One More Night
by ArtGirlie815
Summary: They did it. They won the Battle of Manhattan. Now the weary Avengers deserve a break. Clint and Natasha get the chance to relax and discover the small joys in life. Steve comes to terms with reality. And Tony is his usual playboy billionaire genius philanthropist. Basically you get one big Avengers trip to Hawaii. Book 1 of 4. Clintasha, Pepperony, Natasha/Steve friendship.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I believe I developed an instant obsession with these two... its a problem. :) Now I have done research on the backgrounds of Clint and Natasha and I've taken bits and pieces. After all this is just a fanfic...I'm only borrowing these two for fun.

Warning: this chapter does contain a sex scene. I couldn't resist :)

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Chapter 1

They probably looked pretty pitiful as they trudged away from the Shawarma shop. Being that the city was a wreck; driving back to Stark Tower was not exactly an option.

Steve and Bruce idly chatted while Tony tried to reach Pepper.

It was the two assassins that were trailing behind the three that looked the most battered.

Clint leaned heavily on Natasha, who looked like she may collapse if they continued on.

Relief, however, was on the horizon. Tony mumbled something to JARVIS who opened the doors into Tower. The worn heroes piled into the elevator that took them to the upper floors.

"You guys can bunk here for now. Get a shower too," Tony said motioning to the opening door.

Four of them stumbled out and left Tony to continue to his own floor.

Steve walked over to one of the over stuffed chairs in lounge area and plopped down.

"As annoying as Stark is, I have to admit that he has good taste in furniture." Steve sighed.

Bruce mumbled a good night and retreated to the first room down the hall.

"Cap, you have any room preferences?" Natasha asked glancing down the hall. She got no response.

"He's asleep," Clint whispered. He shifted his weight onto his left leg and grunted. He felt his knee begin to buckle under him followed by two arms wrapping around his middle, stopping his fall.

"Hey, easy there, I've got ya'." Natasha said softly. She gently turned him in the direction of the hall and led him towards the furthest bedroom. She knew he liked to be separated from everyone, that he liked his peace and quiet. She opened the door with her shoe and shuffled in.

"Damn," Clint chuckled as he surveyed the room.

It was huge. There was a sitting area right in the front half followed by a massive California King bed in the back that was flanked by two windows and bedside tables.

"Come on, you need to get cleaned up." Natasha said.

The bathroom was just as impressive and just as massive. There was a huge standup shower that looked like you could hold a party in it, as well as a stand alone tub. Natasha led Clint into the shower and sat him down on the built in seat. He slumped gratefully against the cool stone and allowed his eyes to close for the first time in hours.

He could hear the shower turn on, which caught his interest. He opened one eye to see Natasha testing the water. She turned around and knelt down to begin untying his left boot.

"Tasha? What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"Helping you, you cripple," she mumbled, pulling the boot off.

"I can do it." Clint said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you shut up and let me help?" Natasha growled meeting his gaze.

Clint sighed, knowing that this was a battle that he would not win. He allowed her to continue to take off his boots and vest, which she laid outside the shower door. Natasha slowly pealed off his shirt and found a large nasty bruise beginning to form diagonally on his back.

"What the hell?" She whispered examining his back more. Cuts littered his skin that was not covered by the shirt or vest, blood caked on the wounds.

"I went through a window," Clint explained trying not to wince as her fingertips ghosted across his back.

"A window, Clint?"

"I ran out of arrows so I swung into a window."

Natasha shook her head and began to work on his belt. Clint tensed and stopped her hands.

"Tasha, I've got it from here," he mumbled.

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked," Natasha replied trying to push his hands away.

"Tasha, I…" Clint started.

She met his gaze once again and could see the pain in the deep grey pools. This pain was not emotional pain though, it was mental.

"Clint, it's okay. Loki is gone." Natasha said trying to keep her voice steady.

"You don't know what he put into my head…what he asked me about you." Clint sighed leaning forward and resting his head in his hands. Natasha rolled back onto her heals, shivering slightly as the warm water began to soak through her suit.

The two sat silence for a moment.

"You're getting wet," Clint murmured.

Natasha sighed and put her hands on his knees, hoisting herself up to a more comfortable position. She cupped his face in her hands and lifted it up to where he was looking at her. She leaned in slowly and placed her lips on his gently. It was a short kiss.

Natasha pulled away and brushed a hand through his hair. "I'm okay Clint."

Clint relaxed slightly and allowed her to continue to undress him. He hissed when she caught him off guard with the water. For such a strong and sometimes violent woman, her touch was gentle and calming. He felt her fingers ghost over his skin as she lathered up the soap. She gently washed away the dried blood and dirt. Clint sighed softly as she turned her attention to his hair. Her nails gently scraped at his scalp. He furrowed his eyebrows when he felt her hands leave his body. In their place was a cascade of warm water.

"All clean," Natasha said softly.

Clint opened his eyes, wiping away any excess water to look at her. She was soaked to the bone. She still wore her suit, but minus her belt and weapons. He braced himself on the wall rail and lifted himself up. He gingerly tested his leg and decided it was safe for the time being.

"You helped me, now let me help you." Clint said motioning for her to come closer. He sensed her hesitation and deep down he panicked. Would she never let him touch her again?

"Tasha," Clint mumbled offering her his hand.

After a moment she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled out the spray.

Slowly, he ran his hands up and down the length of her arms. The fabric was slippery now thanks to her bathing him. He paused at her shoulders and allowed his hands to drift to her breastbone. One hand steadied the suit and the other gently pulled the zipper down. Clint stopped once he reached her waistline and replaced his hands on her shoulders.

He began peeling the suit away from her body. Once he reached her rib cage, Clint groaned.

He could see a fist size bruise forming. "Tasha, did I do this?" Clint whispered brushing the skin with his fingertips.

"No, Loki did. You would never hurt me, Clint." Natasha answered softly.

Clint blinked and brought his fist up to the bruise; it was an exact match. Natasha sighed and unfurled his hand. She brought both of his hands back to her zipper and then lifted his face to meet hers.

"I am fine, continue." She mumbled.

Clint mumbled something quietly and continued to strip her of the suit. She finally stood before him in just her underwear. He wrapped his arms around her back and fumbled with the clasp. Finally he freed her from the basic black bra. Clint tossed it over to where her pile of soaking clothes lay. He locked gazes with her and hooked his thumbs under the band of her matching black bikini bottom and gently tugged them down her legs.

They too joined the pile.

Silently Clint washed his partner's body, taking stock of each bruise and new scar. Over the years the two had learned each other's scars, most now they could say they had earned together.

As he finished rinsing the remaining shampoo from her hair, Clint felt Natasha's arms wrap around his waist. He ran his fingers through her now clean locks and down her back, tracing her spine as he traveled down. Natasha rested her head on his shoulder and buried her face into his neck.

Clint leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Let's dry off okay?" He felt her nod against his skin and carefully he reached behind them and turned off the water. Somehow the two managed to dry off and reach the bed room without breaking much contact.

Clint dragged her down onto the bed with him and wrapped his arms around her possessively.

"I thought I had lost you." Natasha murmured into his chest.

"You didn't lose me I am right here. You saved me thanks to your cognitive recalibration." Clint replied earning himself a chuckle from her. "Well you did."

Clint nuzzled her head and flipped them over to where Natasha laid beneath him.

She looked like a goddess. Her red hair was splayed out artfully across the pillow and her skin was still slightly flushed from the shower.

Clint bent down and kissed her softly below her ear. "If you're compromised then boy I have been compromised worse," he mumbled.

He continued to trail kisses down her neck, stopping to suck gently at her collar bone. Natasha sighed softly. She maneuvered them to wear the sheets now pooled at their ankles. Then she caught him off guard by wrapping her legs around his waist pulling him down flush with her body.

"Make love to me Clint; remind me that this is not a dream." She said into his ear.

Clint shuddered and regained his focus. He slid a hand down in between their bodies and gently brushed his fingers against her center. She was more than ready.

"Clint, please," Natasha moaned arching her back, her body craving more contact.

Clint groaned and positioned himself at her entrance. Natasha rolled her hips again causing the tip of him to slip inside. Both gasped as heat met heat. Slowly, Clint pushed himself into her further, relishing in the amazing feeling of her body rippling around him.

"Tasha," he whispered, his voice strained.

"Move, Clint" she replied.

And he did just that. Clint slowly built up a comfortable rhythm that both of their aching bodies could handle.

The two partners had had sex together before. However, this time the whole action was different. This wasn't a quick fuck before a mission or a rough fuck after a mission. This had feeling. The two clung to each other as if they were afraid they would lose the other. This was not simply sex, for the first time the partners made love. Together they frantically battled to reach a climax.

Their now sweaty bodies slid against one another with torturous friction.

"Let go Clint, come for me." Natasha gasped as Clint rammed back into her.

She felt the end was so near that she could taste it. Her whole body felt like a live wire. She could tell Clint was just as close. His movements had become erratic and urgent.

"Come on, Clint. I'm so close," Natasha moaned trying to keep up.

"Tasha," Clint groaned finally stilling his movements and letting go inside her.

She followed him over the edge and silently cried out. Clint collapsed next to her, his breath coming in ragged breaths. The ragged breathing shifted to sobbing that Clint desperately tried to conceal. Natasha quickly regained her composure and rolled over to face him. She put a hand on his chest and ran a hand soothingly through his hair.

"Hey, shh, it's okay." Natasha whispered.

"I can't lose you," Clint sobbed pulling her close to him. "God, Natasha. I love you so much." He mumbled into her hair.

"I love you too," Natasha whispered. She soothingly rubbed his chest and allowed him to cry and hold her. She heard his breathing even out telling her that he had fallen asleep. She sighed and relaxed into Clint's embrace. They were going to be okay.

Natasha nuzzled Clint again and pulled the covers up over their bodies. Her partner was safe and that's what mattered; her Clint was safe.

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A/N: Yes, I understand that they maybe a little OC. This is just how they are in my little movie in my head. I believe that after going through the Battle of New York both of them were changed... I mean I would. Just give the story a try :) I actually have this one finished and have started the sequel so updates will be regular! Don't forget to REVIEW! I LOOOOOVE REVIEWS!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am amazed at the amount of hits I got within the last day. You have now idea how much that means to me! Please Please Please review though! It helps me know if I'm going on the right path.

Anyways... here is the next chapter :)

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Chapter 2

"Get up lovebirds!" Tony called out through the intercom.

Clint groaned and buried his face further into the pillow. He tightened his grip around Natasha's waist and tried to fall back asleep.

"Come on, Fury is coming and I really don't think he wants to see us in our PJs!" Tony continued.

Clint sighed and pulled Natasha closer to him if it was possible. It had been too long since he had gotten to hold her like this.

"Tasha," he whispered into her hair.

He felt her shift. "Fury can get a life," she mumbled.

Clint chuckled. "I'm more worried about Tony personally."

She laughed and rolled over in his arms to face him. "We could take Stark any day." She kissed him lightly on the lips and smiled.

Clint ran a hand through his hair and groaned.

"What's up?" Natasha asked rolling onto her stomach and propping her head up on her arms.

"I don't want to get up." He replied giving her his signature lopsided grin.

Natasha laughed and rolled off the bed, pulling the sheet with her. Clint hurriedly grabbed the comforter before it too could slip away. He watched her walk towards the bag that now sat on one of the chairs. He didn't remember that being there when they arrived.

"Don't worry it's from Pepper." Natasha called over her shoulder. "It's clothes."

"Then toss me some," Clint replied sitting up.

He let his eyes wander down Natasha's back as she rummaged through the bag. The sheet, unfortunately, covered her from the waist down. Suddenly, he was greeted with a bundle of clothing smacking into his face.

"Keep your eyes in your head, Hawk," Natasha warned.

Clint chuckled and began to pull on the boxers she had thrown at him. He watched her slip into her fresh set of underwear, matching just like before.

By some miracle he had managed to pull on the loose fitting black jeans. Natasha now sported a similar pair of black jeans and layered shirts. He pulled on the red one that sat in his lap and then slid off the bed. His leg was still sore but it was nothing unbearable. He walked over to where Natasha stood and paused. He smiled slightly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You never told me why you cut your hair," he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes, "I don't have to tell you everything."

Clint leaned in closer to where she could feel his breath on her skin.

"I like you telling me everything. I'm the only you tell anything too." He murmured.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash down the hallway.

Natasha and Clint sprung apart and flew down the hall. Both had managed to grab their guns and now stood ready to shoot in the living room.

"Told you that would work! Pay up Banner!" Tony said waving a piece of toast in the direction of Bruce who sat on the couch.

"You didn't have to break a lamp though," Steve grumbled bending down to clean up the mess.

"Cap, you have to think outside of the box. Put the guns away it's too early for that." Tony continued.

Natasha growled softly and walked over to Tony. She snatched the toast out of his hand took a huge bite.

"What the?!" he exclaimed, earning himself a chuckle from Steve.

Natasha rolled her eyes and stalked off back to the room, grabbing Clint's gun on her way. The four men heard the door slam closed causing Clint to laugh.

"Obviously you guys didn't spend as much time with her as I thought. You got anymore of that?" Clint asked walking over to Steve.

As he knelt down, the searing pain returned to his knee and calf from the previous day. Clint hissed and immediately fell back to a sitting position on the floor.

Steve was the first to react.

"You ok?" he asked his voice full of concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not superhuman like you three." Clint replied rubbing his leg.

"To answer your previous question, yes I have more toast. And man, with a shot like yours I'd classify you as superhuman." Tony said offering the archer the plate of toast.

Clint grabbed a piece and nibbled on the corner. Bruce got up and knelt down next to him.

"Would you mind if I looked at your leg? I just want to make sure nothing is broken." Bruce offered rolling up his sleeves.

"It would make me happy," Natasha said. She had returned now unarmed and was leaning up against the wall.

Clint nodded towards Bruce and rolled up his pants leg. He stiffened under the doctor's touch. He could feel Natasha's gaze boring into his back as he was examined.

"Well, it looks like you just strained the muscle. You should take it easy for awhile and try not to put much weight on it. Try icing it too, it should help." Bruce explained.

Clint could hear Natasha's soft steps approach him. She stepped in front of him and offered a hand to help him up. Putting the piece of toast in his mouth he accepted the gesture. The two walked over to the sitting area. Clint dropped himself down into the overstuffed armchair and sighed. Natasha walked over towards the couch. Clint reached out and grabbed her wrist pulling her down next to him in the chair. Steve settled down on the opposite side of the couch from Bruce and Tony took the remaining armchair.

"So are you two like a thing now?" Tony asked bluntly motioning to Natasha and Clint.

"I thought you of all people would have thought to have looked up our files while at S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha said she looked out of the corner of her towards Clint and gave him a slight smile.

Clint knew the smile all too well. Now it was time for some fun.

"Don't you think that was a little rude Tony?" Steve asked shifting a little uncomfortably.

"Nope and that's why I asked it. Just bed buddies? Bestest Bestest Friends? Come on give me something!" Tony pressed.

"We're married, Stark." Clint confessed. He couldn't help but smile slightly. This was going to be good.

"Son of a Bitch, no way?!" Tony replied.

"Wait what?" Steve stuttered.

"Um, didn't see that one coming," Bruce mumbled.

"Two years now." Natasha said keeping up her poker face.

"Sir, Director Fury has arrived." JARVIS announced.

The elevator opened up to reveal Fury in his usual getup.

"Did you know that they are married?" Tony exclaimed.

"Cool it, Stark." Fury warned taking a seat in the final chair. "I managed to convince the Counsel to give you all a leave of absence."

"By 'leave of absence' you mean what exactly?" Tony asked.

"Vacation, R and R. You all need rest." Fury replied leaning forward.

"Manhattan was kind of destroyed. Where are we going to stay?" Steve questioned.

"That's why it's called vacation Cap. Take a plane and go somewhere. Get some sun, relax. I have a city to clean up." Fury said. "Oh, and just between us, this is on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tab. I believe saving the world from an alien invasion earns you some brownie points."

Fury gave them a half smile and reentered the elevator. He had been gone for less than a minute before Pepper emerged from the elevator.

"That was fast. So what did Fury want?" she asked walking over to Tony. She casually sat down on his lap and observed the others.

"We get vacation!" Tony said excitedly pecking her on the cheek.

"Oh, that's nice. When do we leave?" Pepper asked relaxing into Tony's chest.

Clint watched the two's interaction with intrigue. Pepper seemed to mellow out Tony.

"Tonight! Let's go pack now! I shall see you honorable people in a week or two!" Tony exclaimed pulling Pepper up with him.

Bruce cleared his throat, "Um, well, I have someone I'm meeting today so I'll see you guys in a few weeks." He dusted off his pants, nodded to the group and exited to his room.

"Um, I don't want to intrude, but you guys no where you are going to go?" Steve asked rubbing the back of his neck.

Clint smiled, "You wanna tag along, Cap?"

"Well, I…"Steve stammered.

"It's fine, Steve. I think there is a place you would find interesting." Natasha said smiling softly.

"I don't want to intrude." Steve said quickly.

"Nah, we won't mind." Natasha reassured him.

"Let's leave tonight too. I don't want to be cooped up here in Stark tower any longer than I have to be." Clint said nudging Natasha a little.

Natasha slowly stood up and began towards the hallway. "We'll meet back out here in an hour."

Clint followed Natasha back into the room and immediately flung himself onto the bed.

"Obviously you have a place in mind." He said settling into the pillows.

"Hawaii. I know it sounds cliché, but I have always wanted to go there." Natasha said packing up their suits into the bag Pepper had given them.

"Come here," Clint mumbled.

Natasha sighed and stopped her packing. She crawled up next to him and settled into his embrace. Moments like these were extremely rare between the two. They either never had the time or they were too tired to even make it to bed.

"Why have you suddenly become extremely clingy?" She mumbled.

"Since I almost lost you," he whispered.

"How much money do you want to bet that Tony went and looked up our files?" she asked with a slight giggle.

"I want to see the look on his face when he sees we aren't married." Clint laughed.

There was a pause.

"Maybe we should," Clint suggested.

"Should what?" Natasha asked.

"Get married. In Hawaii, have Steve be the witness. I don't want to go through another battle feeling the way I felt." Clint murmured into her hair.

"And now you have become a hopeless romantic." She replied softly. She pulled herself out of his embrace and strode back over to the bag.

"Tasha, what's wrong?" Clint asked sitting up.

"You know me I don't know how to respond to that." She confessed. "How did you feel during the battle?"

Clint stood up and softly grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

"I was fucking terrified." Clint began. He slowly rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"We all were terrified, Clint." Natasha interrupted.

"Tasha, I wasn't just terrified because masses of aliens were attacking. I was terrified of losing you." Clint continued his voice slightly cracking.

Natasha locked gazes with him.

"I love you so much Natasha. I now know that I can't bear the idea of losing you." Clint mumbled. He brought his hands up to cup her face. "Tasha?"

"You know that I love you too. It's just…" Natasha started.

"What? What's wrong? I'll fix it." Clint replied. Natasha smiled. That was the Clint she knew; the man who always wanted to help fix people but always forgot to fix himself.

"Some things you can't fix," She muttered.

"Like what?" He asked crossing his arms.

"He's gone Clint," she whispered looking down at her feet.

"Who's gone?"

"Phil…Phil is dead," she said looking up at him.

Clint paled and leaned up against the bed. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Did I…Tasha, did I…" Clint stuttered.

"No! No, you didn't. It was Loki. If it helps, Coulson blasted him through the wall with a prototype blaster," Natasha said touching his shoulder.

"But I helped get him on the carrier," Clint said.

"Don't do this to yourself, Clint. That wasn't you! I need you to let it go. You have before," Natasha begged.

"It's never that simple," Clint replied.

Natasha sighed and pulled away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just tired. I want to get out of Manhattan." Natasha replied.

"Well, let's go. It's not like we have much stuff. I just want to contact Fury so I can grab something from my quarters on the Helicarrier." Clint said. He gingerly walked over to the bag and pulled his phone out of the pocket in his suit.

Natasha watched him dial and then turned so he could speak to the Director.

"Sir, I need to pick up some items from my quarters before we go on leave." Clint said.

"_That can be arranged Agent Barton. I also have one final request for the Avengers. Thor has requested that you guys be there to send Loki back to Asgard. I believe he just wishes to say good bye." _Fury said.

"I can tell them, sir. Where do we need to meet?" Clint asked.

"_Central park 1:00 sharp, I'm assuming the personal items you are referring to is the steel box?" _Fury continued.

"Yes, sir, that is the box."

"_I'll have it delivered with Thor and Loki. Enjoy your vacation." _Fury finished before hanging up.

"Everything alright?" Natasha asked.

"We have to meet Thor and Loki in Central Park at 1:00 to see them off." Clint answered stoically.

"Clint," Natasha said softly.

"No, I want to see that bastard gone." Clint mumbled grabbing the black jacket and grey hoodie that hung on the back of one of the chairs. Natasha had pulled it out earlier along with his sunglasses. He placed the glasses on top of his head and pulled the jackets on.

Natasha slipped on her own tan leather looking jacket and reached for her gun, which she concealed inside the coat. Clint grabbed his own and placed it in the waist band of his pants. He slipped on his tattered boots, while she pulled on a pair of simple black heels.

"Let's go get the others." Natasha said slipping into her Agent mode.

The two silently gathered Steve, Bruce and Tony, who each were very reluctant to stop the vacation planning. They each arrived at the designated location at separate times.

Steve had his bike, Tony and Bruce in some exclusive car, and Clint and Natasha in an S.H.I.E.L.D. issued car. Thor and Loki arrived in the company of Dr. Selvig.

Clint stiffened and gripped the steering wheel tightly when he saw Loki slink out of the van. He closed his eyes trying to erase the images in his mind that Loki induced.

"Clint, it's okay." Natasha whispered peeling his hands off the wheel.

"Let's get this over with." He said through clenched teeth.

Thor had just finished speaking to Tony and Bruce and strode over to Clint and Natasha.

"My Friends, it has been quite a journey. Clint, I am sorry for the pain that Loki caused for you. I am in your debt." Thor said bowing his head. Clint was speechless. How was one supposed to reply to that? He nodded and shook Thor's hand. Thor turned to Natasha and took her hand into his own. He placed a small kiss on her knuckles.

"Lady Natasha, you are amazing warrior who is just as strong as she is beautiful. I wish you luck until the next the Avengers assemble." Thor bowed and headed back towards Loki.

Clint stared at Loki who stood shackled and with some sort of device over his mouth. Natasha turned back towards him and smiled. "He looks like a demented Darth Vader or something." She whispered so only he could hear. Clint couldn't help but smile. And then just before their eyes, Thor and Loki vanished thanks to the power of the Tesseract.

Tony waved at the two and motioned for Bruce to follow him.

"I'll meet you two at the airport. I'm gonna swing by my apartment first." Steve said cranking his bike.

Dr. Selvig walked over holding a box as Steve sped away.

"Director Fury asked me to deliver this to you, Barton." He said offering the box. Clint took it gratefully. Selvig nodded and took his leave.

"I'm driving!" Natasha exclaimed quickly slipping into the driver's seat.

Clint rolled his eyes and joined her in the passenger's side. He braced himself as Natasha sped along the roads. They arrived in a matter of minutes. An S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stood waiting in the carpool line. The two quickly unloaded the car, their luggage seeming a little pathetic compared to the masses around them. Natasha flicked the keys at the agent who stumbled to make the catch. Clint snorted and wrapped an arm around Natasha's waist pulling her into the airport.

Surprisingly, Steve stood waiting as well. He had his single bag at his feet and he waved shyly towards the pair. Clint held back a laugh as he observed the throngs of girls who were swooning over Steve.

"If you guys don't mind I got the tickets already. First class straight to Hawaii." Steve said handing each of them their tickets.

The two nodded and they seemed to slip into autopilot. Both Clint and Natasha had permits to bring their weapons so security wasn't a problem. They only settled down once they found themselves sitting in the plush seats of first class.

Natasha sighed and laid her head down on Clint's shoulder. She nuzzled him slightly and inhaled his comforting scent. Let the 10 hour flight begin.

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A/N: REVIEW! :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: i have been so happy with the amount of hits I have been getting on this story... it really is a confidence booster. PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW!

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Chapter 3

Natasha was woken up suddenly by a jolting of the plane.

"Easy, Tasha, it's just some turbulence." Clint said soothingly. He carefully pried her hand from around wrist.

"Sorry," she mumbled sitting up right. She rubbed her eyes and glanced over at Steve. The blonde was sound asleep. She smiled and turned her attention back to Clint.

"Did you get any sleep?" Natasha asked.

"A little, I don't sleep on planes." Clint explained. He stretched awkwardly in his chair and smiled at her.

"Ha, that would make since," She said to herself.

"What would make since?"

"That a Hawk wouldn't sleep in the middle of flight," she replied.

"Nice," Clint scoffed, rolling his eyes.

The flight attendant came on the intercom announcing that they were about to begin their descent into Hawaii.

Natasha began to lean over to wake Steve, but was halted by Clint grabbing her elbow. He smiled at her and held up a crumpled napkin. She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing what he was going to do.

Expertly, Clint pegged Steve square in the forehead. The Captain woke with a start, nearly falling out of his seat if he hadn't been belted in.

Natasha snorted and whacked Clint on the arm. "We're almost there Steve. Sorry about the rude wake up call."

"It's good." Steve mumbled situating himself upright.

Natasha had to admit. She hated take-off and landing. She found herself digging her nails into the plush armrests as the plane slowly descended.

Clint glanced over at her and noticed her tense posture. He quickly took her hand into his own and squeezed it.

"You're never like this when I fly the Quinjet," He said softly.

"That's the difference, YOU are flying the jet. I don't know the idiot flying this hunk of metal." Natasha replied through clenched teeth.

Clint chuckled and squeezed her hand again. He had to admit it was a slightly bumpy landing. Natasha finally relaxed when the attendant bid then off with her fake smile. She practically bolted off of the plane and onto the concourse. Clint and Steve caught up with the red head just outside of the gate.

"Let's get some food, and then find a hotel." Steve said hoisting his carryon onto his shoulder. The three had only brought carryon luggage in order to avoid the rush around the luggage carousel.

Clint walked a few steps behind Natasha and Steve, who were eagerly searching for a decent place to eat. They finally stopped at a McDonalds that was near the exit of the airport. As they stood waiting for their orders, Clint noticed to two small boys staring at Steve with wide eyes.

"Hey, Cap. I believe you are being watched," Clint said quietly after taking a sip of his drink.

Steve gave him a strange look; Clint nodded in the direction of the two boys and smiled.

"Say something to them," Clint whispered trying to hold back his amusement. It was obvious Steve still was not use to the attention he got from being Captain America.

Steve cleared his throat and smiled at the boys, "Can I help you?" he asked.

The two boys' eyes widen more if it was possible. Clint elbowed Natasha and nodded towards Steve.

"He's got fans," Clint said with a small laugh.

"That's pretty cute." Natasha chuckled.

"Are you Captain America?" one of the boys finally spoke up.

Steve looked nervous. He glanced back at Clint and Natasha to see if it was okay to reply. Natasha gave his a curt nod and then headed to the counter to pick up the tray of food.

"Yes, I am." Steve said slowly.

"That is so cool!" the second boy exclaimed. "We watched you on the TV with Iron Man. You are my hero."

"I'm just doing my job. Now why don't you two go find your parents? I don't want you to get lost. This is a big airport." Steve said showing a bit more confidence.

"Yes sir!" the two boys replied happily giving him a salute before running back off towards the seating area.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He turned back to the other two and smiled.

"You fit the role of hero perfectly, Steve," Natasha said.

Steve blushed slightly and bowed his head, heading off towards a table that was out of the way of the crowd. The three ate their meals quickly and quietly. The stares had begun to multiple, except they were not just for Steve. They hadn't realized that the news of Manhattan had traveled so fast. Once they finished up, they ducked out of the gathering crowd and headed for the exit. Clint waved them down a cab and they piled in.

"Where to sir?" The cabbie said.

"The best hotel on the island." Natasha said quickly.

The driver simply nodded and sped off.

"Best hotel? You really are planning on making S.H.I.E.L.D. pay." Steve said.

The view was amazing. The lush greenery and glimpses of the beach were spectacular in the setting sun.

"Here we are ma'am, the Four Seasons. Aloha, and welcome to Hawaii." The driver said tipping his hat slightly. Natasha slipped some money up to the driver and slid out after Clint. They were greeted by a small crowd of people gathered in the lobby. They seemed to be massed around the check in counter. Steve stood up on his tip toes trying to see over the crowd. He then let out a low sigh.

"Lovely," he mumbled. Clint looked at the Captain confused. Steve shook his head and began to elbow his way through the crowd.

"Capsicle! What you doing here?" came the voice of none other than Tony Stark.

Natasha groaned and lightly banged her head against Clint's shoulder.

"Come on, he can get us an amazing room." Clint whispered into her ear before taking her hand that was not holding her bag and pulling her into the crowd.

"The Spider and the Hawk, too! It's just one big party!" Tony exclaimed. Pepper shook her head and mouthed an apology towards the two. "Debbie, I need another two suites please." Tony said slapping the counter flashing the receptionist a toothy grin.

The receptionist looked flustered, but she worked quickly. She held up three room cards.

"Will that be all Mister Stark?" She stuttered.

"Uh, yeah, don't like to be handed things, Pepper?" Tony said placing his sunglasses on his face.

Pepper sighed and grabbed the keys. She nodded towards the elevator giving Natasha and Clint the signal to bail. The three struggled out of the crowd and were closely followed by Steve and Tony.

"He's always like this." Pepper mumbled looking at Natasha.

"I can punch him if you'd like?" Natasha offered, following her into the elevator.

"No don't punch him. I think you all have been punched enough." Pepper replied.

The five squeezed into the elevator and Tony punched the top floor. "Apparently, we all can't get enough of each other." Tony said

"Yeah Stark, we just love you." Clint mocked rolling his eyes.

"Here is yours and Natasha's room key and here is yours Steve," Pepper said handing out the cards.

"I like how you assumed I would be okay rooming with Clint, Tony." Natasha said.

"It's your love nest," Tony replied waggling his eyebrows at her.

Conveniently, the elevator dinged and the doors opened up to reveal the single hallway.

"Enjoy!" Tony called practically skipping down the hall to one of the farthest rooms.

Steve grabbed his bag and went to the room next door to Tony's. "I have my cell, just tell me if you guys want to get together to do something. Get some rest." Steve said before disappearing into the room.

"Tasha, we are on the end too." Clint said nudging her forward. Natasha fumbled with the key for a moment then let them in.

"Holy…" she breathed as she took in the sight.

"Yep, I could never afford this," Clint mumbled.

He dropped the bags into the sitting area and looked at Natasha with an impish grin.

He ran as fast as his leg would allow and launched himself onto the California king bed.

"Admit it you want to too," Clint laughed spreading out on the bed.

Natasha laughed and walked over to the bed. She stood at the foot and raised an eyebrow. Slowly she began to crawl up the bed in between his leg.

Clint felt his heart skip a beat. She straddled his waist and leaned down seductively to where their noses touched.

"Well that's not what I meant, but I like this better." He whispered.

She smiled and pressed her lips against his. Clint smiled and flipped them over.

"We are not doing this for the entire trip." Natasha murmured as he blazed a trail down her neck.

"You're no fun." Clint replied rolling off of her. "Then what do you want to do?"

"Let's go to the beach," She suggested sitting up.

"It's dark out!" Clint exclaimed.

"Have you never been to the beach at night?" she asked sliding off the bed.

"Uh, no, I thought the purpose of the beach was to go during the day and it's not like I have to go to the beach." He replied following her lead.

He watched Natasha pull out her swimsuit and cover up and slink into the bathroom. He dug out his swim trunks and changed. He walked over to the mirror and examined his back. The scrapes were not bad anymore. The salt water may sting for a bit, but nothing he couldn't deal with.

"They look better," Natasha said. She walked over to him and touched his shoulder.

He turned to face her. She wore a white cover up that stopped mid-thigh. He noticed that she held two towels in her arms.

"Ready?" he asked pulling a shirt on.

She gave him a smile then headed out the door. Clint slid the room key into his pocket and followed.

They traveled back down to the lobby and followed the signs pointing towards the beach. Clint was speechless when they reached the beach. The sight was beautiful. The moon shone brightly on the dark water. Everything looked so calm and peaceful.

"Are you coming?" Natasha asked motioning to the towels she had laid out. He hadn't even seen her lay them out. He stumbled over to the towels and stripped off his shirt.

She rolled her eyes at him and slowly peeled off her cover up. Clint couldn't help but watch.

In the moonlight, her pale skin shone softly. His heart clenched. He could see the scars as well. Her torso was littered with crisscrossing lines, each holding a different story. He had some that matched hers, some that told the same story.

"You know I don't like you staring," Natasha said softly.

Clint snapped out of his trance. "Tasha," he said getting up and wrapping his arms around her. She turned her head away from him.

"Hey, look at me." He said moving his head to look at her. "You shouldn't be ashamed of these." He began lightly tracing over her back. "You are beautiful and…"

"And what, Barton?" she pressed.

"And I love you." He mumbled nuzzling her neck.

He felt Natasha relax slightly in his embrace. She then pulled away and grabbed his hand leading him towards the glistening water. They walked in up to their waists before Clint pulled her back into his arms.

He could feel goose bumps forming over her skin. "I mean it, you know." He said.

"Love is for children," she whispered.

Clint smiled and slowly began pulling her down with him. She gasped as the cool water lapped at her skin. He laughed earning him a pinch on the arm.

"Then let's be children." He mumbled before capturing her lips with his own. He felt her smile and then her wrap her legs around his waist. She broke away for air and met his gaze.

"Only for you Bird Brain." She mocked before putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing them the water.

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A/N: REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I shall warn you now, this chapter is a little long... I got carried away :) It's a good mixture of seriousness and fluff in my opinion, but what do I know? Don't forget to review! I really enjoy constructive criticism...no flames please

A/N: okay i made the change about natasha saying russia (ussr at the time) was fighting against the usa in wwII, i did know that they werent fighting against each other and were allies by the time of pearl harbor. I wrote this chapter really late at night so i guess my history lessons failed me :) thank you to those who caught my error. It has now been removed. :)

Chapter 4

The sunlight peaked in through shades the next morning causing Natasha to roll over further into Clint's chest.

"Hmmm?" Clint mumbled bringing his free hand up to rub his eyes.

"I don't want to move," Natasha groaned.

Clint smiled to himself. "I'm hungry, so you don't have to move but I'm going to go get food."

Natasha rolled over and buried her face into her pillow. Clint slide out of bed and trudged over to the desk that held the room service information. He glanced over the menu and quietly dialed. He ordered a wide variety of food and then walked back over to the bed.

He slid back under the covers and wrapped his arms around Natasha's waist, pulling her flush against his body.

"Since when were you a morning person?" Natasha grumbled.

"Since I get to wake up with you." Clint said almost immediately regretting it. It sounded much cheesier than it had in his head.

Natasha laughed and rolled over to face him. "Wow! Are you like high?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that was pretty bad. I enjoy your company, Tasha." Clint replied kissing her lightly on the forehead.

Natasha could feel her cheeks heat up at his words. The knock at the door tore the two apart. Clint reluctantly got up and answered it, allowing the room service to roll in the cart that held the food. Natasha could not hear what he said to the young girl as he ushered her out, but the look on the girl's face was priceless.

"Come on; eat while it is still hot." Clint said motioning for her to join him on the couch.

Natasha rolled her eyes and slid out of bed. She pulled on the robe that hung on the bed post and then plopped down next to the archer.

Clint smiled and eagerly pulled one of the plates of eggs towards him. Natasha grabbed one of the bowls of pineapple and began to eat.

Another knock at the door caused them to pause. Natasha got up to answer this time. She peaked through the peep hole and smiled. She opened the door to reveal a smiling Steve.

"Good Morning! Oh! You aren't dressed. I am so sorry." Steve said immediately averting his gaze.

"It's fine Steve. Others have seen me in much less. Come, we are having breakfast. Clint ordered an obnoxious amount of food." Natasha said stepping aside to the embarrassed soldier in.

"Hey Steve!" Clint exclaimed.

Steve gave him a small wave and sat down on the chair opposite the couch.

"I'm serious help yourself," Natasha said motioning to the cart.

The three ate in silence. Steve and Clint practically ate the entire cart and Natasha ate her usual small breakfast.

"So what are you guys planning to do today?" Steve said leaning back satisfied.

"I don't know? Wander around see what's here?" Clint said looking to Natasha for an opinion.

"I actually wanted to take you somewhere, Steve," Natasha said. She got up off the couch and walked over to the bed side table.

The two men watched her walk away. Clint eyed Steve trying to watch his gaze. However, the Captain remained ever so humble and kept his eyes up high. Clint smiled to himself; it would not have been the same situation with Stark.

Natasha walked back over and handed Steve a brochure that she held.

Steve examined the paper and smiled slightly. "I remember this." He said holding up the paper.

It was a brochure for the Pearl Harbor memorial.

"All the more reason we should go. I don't think either of us has been either." Natasha said smiling at Steve.

"I'll let you two get dressed and how about we meet down in the lobby in 30 minutes." Steve suggested standing up.

Clint nodded and walked him to the door. "See you in a bit, Cap."

He closed the door and turned back to Natasha.

"That's a good idea, Nat. I'm sure he will enjoy it." Clint said walking over to her.

Natasha shrugged, "I hope it won't hurt him, you know? Like bring back memories."

Clint frowned and pulled her into his arms. He nuzzled her neck with his nose, inhaling her comforting scent.

"He won't be alone." He mumbled against her skin.

Natasha pulled Clint's face up meet hers. She was frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked, his heart sinking.

"What have I done to deserve you?" She asked her voice thick with emotion, something that rarely happened to her.

"I ask myself the same question about you every day," he replied before kissing her briefly.

Natasha wiggled out of his embrace and walked over to her bag. Clint ran a hand through his hair and mimicked her actions. The two dressed quickly and quietly.

Their outfits differed greatly from their typical S.H.I.E.L.D. attire. Natasha wore shorts, for once, that showed off her legs and a dark blue tank top that contrasted nicely with her hair. Clint wore cargo shorts and basic t-shirt. Both pulled on the shoes that they had come in and grabbed their other belongings.

The both entered the elevator and Clint pressed the button for the lobby. He then casually leaned up against the hand rail and sighed.

"There is something that I would like to do with you while we are here." Clint said breaking the silence.

"Oh?" Natasha asked turning towards him.

"It's a surprise, so you are just going to have to wait," Clint answered with a smirk.

The elevator dinged and opened up to the lobby. Lounging peacefully was none other than Tony and Pepper.

"Good Morning Legolas and Spider girl!" Tony exclaimed.

Clint rolled his eyes, "Morning."

Pepper smiled and nodded at the two before returning to the paper she held.

"So on the final day we are here, I was planning on going out to this nice little waterfall. If you two and Cap want to join the invitation is open." Tony said peering over his sunglasses.

"And when is the last day?" Natasha asked folding her arms over her chest.

"Friday, so basically four days." Tony replied.

"We're in I guess." Clint said.

Steve walked up behind them and cleared his throat.

"Are we ready?" he asked putting his sunglasses on.

"Yep," Clint said.

"I rented a car so everything is good to go," Steve said holding up a pair of keys. "And I'm driving." He finished pulling the keys away before Natasha could grab them.

The three began to walk off towards the exit.

"Have fun Kiddies!" Tony called out after them.

Clint rolled his eyes and exited the lobby. He smiled to himself when he caught sight of the car Steve had rented. It was a gorgeous red Camaro convertible.

Steve came up next to where Clint stopped and sighed. "It's all they had."

"It's not an S.H.I.E.L.D car and better than any hunk of junk I've owned, good job Steve," Clint said patting him on the back.

Steve smiled and headed over to the driver's side. Natasha appeared next to Clint and nudged him forward. "You are in back, I called shot gun," she said walking towards the car.

She opened up the door and pulled back the seat.

"As you wish, Milady," Clint mocked as he slid in.

Natasha snorted and climbed in. "You know where we are going Cap?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am. The rental guy helped me put the address into this electronic map thing. He said that it would get me there." Steve said tapping the dashboard.

"It's called a GPS and yes it will get us there, so you lead the way," Natasha replied relaxing back into the seat and pulling on her sunglasses.

Steve smiled and sped off.

Clint didn't exactly care for the back seat. The wind was always a killer when compared to the front seat. His sunglasses shielded his eyes, but despite the glaring sun his nose and ears were freezing. He noticed that Steve seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit. The man had had a goofy grin plastered to his face since they had left the hotel. He seemed like a great guy, one that Clint wouldn't mind hanging out with. Thor was great too, but the whole god complex was a bit annoying. Stark was completely out of the picture. It took every ounce of self-control not to shoot the man. Pepper on the other hand was a wonderful woman. She was the total opposite of Stark.

Clint turned his attention to Natasha. She was very relaxed, which made him smile. It wasn't often that he got to see her relaxed. Her short red curls whipped around in the wind, occasionally catching the sun causing them to shine. She was smiling and talking to Steve about something.

She was beautiful.

He turned his gaze out to the scenes flying by. Out in the distance he could clearly make out an American flag flying high. They had to be close.

Steve slowed down and pulled into a parking lot that was in front of a beach front building. In the background, they could see the outline of the memorial.

They parked and silently walked towards the building. Clint watched as Natasha tried to flatten her wind-blown hair.

Clint touched her hand, "Its fine, Tasha."

She shot him a look as they stepped into the air conditioned building.

Steve went over to the information desk and talked to the employee for a moment before returning to the two.

"She says that the next ferry out to the memorial will leave in about an hour. In the meantime there is an onsite memorial for the war, so why don't we take a look at that." Steve said.

He led them down a corridor into the connecting museum. Clint could feel Natasha tense up. She was bracing for his reaction. Clint quietly quickened his pace and slid up next to her. He took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. She returned the gesture and let go.

The three came to the first exhibit, which told the story of the U.S. entering the war. Steve quietly read through the descriptions. After a moment, Natasha touched Steve's shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. I remember the radio broadcast from the president. Bucky and I were out getting some lunch. He had just returned from basic training. He looked at me and said 'Now don't you go getting any ideas.' I laughed and told him he can't take all the glory." Steve said.

"That's pretty cool," Clint replied crossing his arms.

Something caught Steve's eye and he walked over to another display. "This is the Stark Expo where I met the Doctor!" he said pointing to the pictures.

Natasha and Clint quietly followed Steve as he eagerly explored the museum. The stories that the Captain had were truly amazing. The two got to here of his rescue of 200 P.O.W.'s and of his team that took out the HYDRA bases. It was amazing to think of the things that he had been through in such a short amount of time. He would occasionally mention a woman named Peggy, but would quickly become silent afterwards.

Clint glanced down at his watch and nodded to Natasha. "Hey, Cap it's time to go catch the ferry."

Steve nodded and followed them towards the exit that led to the ferry. The silence resumed as they boarded and sped towards the wreckage of the U.S.S Arizona. They disembarked and quietly walked into the memorial. They were given a short introduction by the guide before they were allowed to roam.

Steve wandered to the outside corridor and peered over the edge. Natasha came up beside him and looked as well.

"It's strange to think that this happened when I was alive. It feels like just yesterday, but it was over seventy years ago." Steve said quietly.

Natasha rubbed the man's shoulder soothingly. Steve smiled and walked away.

Clint came up in place of Steve and leaned up against the railing.

"How is he?" he asked nodding in the direction of Steve.

"He's hurting. He remembers everything. It's hard to grasp the concept that the people you were fighting are now you're allies and that all your friends are dead." Natasha explained softly.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked.

"I'm okay, but I understand his pain." She replied before walking away to check on Steve.

Clint sighed. He understood what she meant. She didn't feel the same pain that Steve did, but it was similar. Hers was more directed towards the friends she lost to the Red Room.

He quietly followed the two into the room that bore the names of all those that perished at Pearl Harbor. He arrived to watch Steve open up his jacket and pull out a small flower.

He laid it down next to the other flowers and then shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I never got to say good bye to my best friend. He didn't die here, but it's the only way I could think of honoring him. I know some of those people up there." Steve said softly. Natasha shuffled closer to the Captain and looped her arm around his. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, "I'm sorry Steve."

Clint scanned the names, the long list of names. He couldn't help but wonder which ones were Steve's friends. Was it this James or George? His eyes kept pausing on names, the same question popping into his mind.

It was an eerie list, a heart breaking list.

"Steve, did Peggy die in the war?" Natasha asked breaking the silence.

Steve pulled away from her and closed his eyes as he slumped down onto one of the nearby benches.

"I don't know." He whispered.

"Who was Peggy?" Clint asked walking over to the man. Steve sighed. It was clear that there was hesitation. "You don't have to tell us." Clint said quickly.

"No, it's fine. Peggy is the last person that I talked to before I crashed. She was the closest thing I ever had to a girlfriend. We were going to go dancing." Steve replied.

"I'm sorry," Clint said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, the ferry is going to head out here in a bit." Natasha said.

Steve nodded and silently followed.

Clint caught Steve glance back at the memorial a few times before they reached the dock.

They silently walked to the car and paused. Clint tapped Steve on the shoulder and held out his hand.

"Let me drive this time." He said so only Steve could hear.

Steve nodded and fished the keys out of his pocket. He handed them over before climbing in back. Natasha glanced at Clint and climbed in. The three buckled up and Clint headed out. A few miles down the road the silence began to eat away at Clint's mind. He needed a distraction. He reached over and turned on the radio. He fiddled with the stations for a moment before coming to a stop.

As the next song started up he glanced over towards Natasha and grinned.

"NO! No, No, No, not this song!" She exclaimed reaching for the nob. Clint slapped her hand away and turned up the volume. Yes, the song was annoying, but at the same time it was catchy.

_Hey, I just met you_

_And this is crazy,_

_But here's my number_

_So call me maybe!_

_It's hard to look right_

_At you baby!_

_But here's my number_

_So call me maybe!_

Clint could hear Steve laugh from the back seat. He turned up the volume more and began to lip sync dramatically. Natasha burst out laughing.

Clint continued his little act until the song finished.

The three had grabbed a bite to eat on the way back to the hotel seeing that is was past lunch time. Clint parked the car and met the other two in the lobby.

"Thanks a lot for today, you two. I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to go grab my book and hit the beach. I'll catch up later." Steve said giving Natasha a quick hug and shaking Clint's hand before heading to the elevator.

"I am honestly not surprised that Steve is going to go read at the beach." Clint said.

Natasha laughed, "It's cute."

"Maybe I need to read at the beach." Clint said raising an eyebrow.

"You reading at the beach would be strange." Natasha said playfully batting him on the arm.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"You're going to laugh at me." Natasha said walking back outside.

"Nah, what?" Clint pressed.

"I want to go shopping." She said turning around to face him.

"Shopping? You?" Clint asked disbelieving what he had heard.

"Yes! I know you are partially deaf, but I know you heard that!" Natasha exclaimed. She shouldered her purse and began to hunt for the car.

"Alright, come on the car is over here," Clint replied with a laugh. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her in the right direction.

He put the top up this time, so he could talk to her as they drove.

"So why shopping?" Clint asked.

Natasha shrugged, "Haven't done it in a while. Today has been very stressful and I want to do something that doesn't require thinking. Plus, Pepper gave me one of Tony's credit cards this morning."

"Nice." Clint said.

The shopping mall was not far from the hotel. He found a close parking spot and followed Natasha. She quickly found a map of the huge complex and scanned it. He couldn't tell what she was looking at. He couldn't even guess what she was looking for. She traced the map briefly before taking off to the right. Clint walked quickly to keep up with her. She seemed to be in a zone.

Clint smiled to himself as they walked. He glanced around at the people, taking particular notice to the couples. His heart leapt slightly. Natasha and he would appear as a couple to other onlookers. This was something that normal couples do and the two of them were far from normal.

He realized that he had never been shopping with her. Oddly enough, the act felt right.

"Here we are." Natasha said ducking into a store.

Clint followed her and observed. The "ever watchful hawk" was very appropriate at this moment.

Natasha rummaged through racks occasionally pulling out a shirt, giving it a look, then putting it back. She pulled out an aqua colored shirt that had ¾ sleeves. She was about to put it back before Clint stopped her.

"I like that one." He said quickly.

Natasha turned to face him. She held the shirt up against her body and looked down.

"You do? It doesn't look weird?" she asked. She looked up at him questioningly.

Clint had never seen the look on her face before. She looked like a regular woman. There was no trace of their line of work, no stress. She looked like she was enjoying herself.

"No, I think it looks great. Get it." Clint said nodding.

She smiled and held it out for him to hold. Clint smiled and draped the shirt over his arm. Deep down this is something that he never thought that he would do. He was getting to be that stereotypical guy that held the clothes as the woman shopped and surprisingly enough that didn't bother him one bit.

The pile over his arm grew as they continued. He would quietly give his opinion on her choices, which she seemed to appreciate.

They checked out and headed on to the next store.

After three more stores and a large amount of money later, Natasha paused in front of a dress shop. Clint furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her questioningly, then to the display window that she was focused on.

"Tasha?" Clint said softly.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Natasha said nodding to the display.

Clint looked back at the window and moved closer to inspect its contents. It was a white wedding dress. The detailing was intricate with beads and lace lining the bodice. The bottom flared out in the style that he believed was called a mermaid. It was beautiful. The background that was set up behind it was depicting a beach scene. Suddenly an idea popped into Clint's head.

"Come here." Clint said heading into the shop.

"Clint, no!" Natasha hissed, but she followed anyways.

Clint walked over to the counter and got the employee's attention. He pointed to the window and said something that Natasha didn't hear, but the employee nodded happily and glanced over towards her. Clint smiled and walked back over to Natasha, who seemed to be glued to the floor in the entrance.

"Come on she said we can go back here." Clint said shifting the bags in the hands to one so that he could grab her hand.

Natasha could see that they were heading towards one of the dressing rooms. They passed racks full of dresses of every color and size.

The employee returned with a dress in her arms.

"I'll just hang it up in here and let you two be. If you need anything I will right around the corner. Congratulations on your engagement." The employee said before bouncing off back to the main part of the shop.

Natasha dropped her two bags at Clint's feet and glared at him, "Engagement!? Really Clint?"

Clint put the bags down and walked over to the room and unzipped the back of the dress.

"Come on, Tasha. You said you liked it. We are having fun today. Plus I have never seen you in a dress that goes past your knees, humor me." Clint said turning to face her.

Natasha groaned and shuffled into the room with him and pulled the curtain shut. She began to tug off her clothes, occasionally bumping into him. She got to her jeans and stumbled as they fell to her ankles and fell back into Clint. Clint laughed and set her up right again.

Natasha smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "Go wait out there, I've got this." She said.

Clint slipped out behind the curtain and sat down on the couch that stood in the middle of the dressing area. He could hear the shuffle of fabric against fabric and the sound of a zipper being pulled up. There was a long moment when he thought she wouldn't come out.

"Natasha, you got it?" he called out.

The curtain pulled back and revealed her standing there. All the air in Clint's lungs seemed to disappear. The dress had looked good on the mannequin, but on Natasha it was stunning.

Clint stood up as she walked out of the room. She walked slowly over to the mirrors that were opposite them and stopped.

"Say something," she whispered, staring at her reflection.

"Wow," was all that he could think of.

"Wow is all you can say?" she replied meeting his gaze in the mirror.

Clint walked closer to her and placed his hands on her hips. The fabric felt so soft and smooth under his calloused hands.

He leaned closer and whispered, "You're amazing. I love it."

He pecked her on the cheek and looked back at their reflection.

Once again they looked human. They looked like a regular old couple searching for a wedding gown. It was a nice feeling. He rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed.

"We could do it, you know?" he said softly. He watched her run her hands down the sides of the dress, tracing her outline.

"Do what?" she said matching his tone.

"Get married."

Natasha took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Fury would kill us."

"And do I look like I care? I love you," he said kissing her briefly on the lips.

She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes." She whispered.

Clint grabbed her shoulders and brought her up to where he could look at her.

"Yes? Yes you'll marry me?" he asked a hint of excitement in his voice.

Natasha giggled and whacked his arm playfully. "Yes, you bird brain! I'll marry you," she replied holding back her laughter.

Clint laughed and wrapped his arms around her middle, picking her up and twirling her around. He pulled away quickly and practically ran to the front.

Natasha laughed and looked back at herself in the mirror. The dress was really perfect. It fit her perfectly in every way.

Clint came back, "It's ours. Go change and let's grab some dinner." He quickly crossed the room to her and kissed her once more.

"Unzip me, please," she said turning her back to him. Clint unzipped her and watched her walk back into the room to change.

His heart was racing. She had said yes to him. They were going to get married. They were going to get the chance at being normal for once.

He didn't even notice that she had changed so quickly and already had the dress in her arms.

"Grab the bags so we can go," she said with a laugh.

Clint stumbled and managed to gather the bags in his arms. He saw the employee put the dress into a dark opaque bag and hand it back to Natasha.

He nodded to the woman in thanks and followed Natasha out of the store.

"Room service works for me. Let's go back to the hotel." She said heading towards the exit.

Clint had never driven so fast over the speed limit before. They made it back to the hotel in record time and managed to race up to their floor without dropping anything. Clint was reaching for the key when they heard a door down the hall close.

"Someone went shopping," Tony said walking towards them.

Clint and Natasha looked at each and burst out laughing before tumbling into their room and slamming the door in the face of one very confused Tony Stark.


	5. Chapter 5

a/n: Thank you to those who caught my little history mess up in the last chapter...it has been fixed :) Anyways... the first part of this chapter may seem a little OC for Natasha, but just go with it. I like to think her and Steve would make great friends. Again dont forget to REVIEW!

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Chapter 5

Natasha woke up the next morning to the soft snores coming from her partner. She smiled and rolled out of bed, searching the floor for pants and a shirt. She came upon Clint's sweatpants and t-shirt.

She shrugged and pulled the clothes on. She grabbed the room key off the table and quietly opened the door. The hallway was much brighter than their room had been.

Natasha rubbed her eyes vigorously and made her way over to Steve's door. She knocked lightly and took a step back.

Steve poked his head out of the door, squinting in her direction. His blonde hair stood up in every direction making him look oddly normal.

"Natasha? What's up?" he asked groggily.

"Mind if I have a word?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.

Steve opened the door up more and beckoned for her to come in. She heard him shuffled away to his bag and pull out a shirt, which he promptly pulled over his head. She sat down on the couch and sighed.

Steve sat down across from her and relaxed down into the chair.

"I'm all ears," he said smiling at her.

Steve had a way of making everyone feel so comfortable and relaxed; he made people feel safe. Even now in his sleep pants and basic t-shirt, the Captain looked like a hero.

"So Clint and I are not really married." She began. She began to fiddle with the tassel on the decorative pillow.

"Well, I can't say I truly believed you guys about that either. You still have Stark fooled though," he replied.

"He's my best friend and my partner. The way he puts it is that we are practically married in every emotional sense of the word, just not legally." Natasha continued.

"Now, that I can see," Steve chuckled.

"I'm not going to tell you my life story or how Clint and I came to be if you don't want to know." She said softly.

Steve leaned forward and put a hand on her knee. "I can tell it bothers you. You haven't told anyone before have you?"

Natasha shook her head and pulled the pillow into her lap.

"All I ask is why you want to tell me now?" he asked.

"You told us all about your time in the war; about your friends, about Peggy. If we are going to be a team we need to know each other's pasts. Well, we don't need to know, but it helps with connecting with one another. I figured it would be easier to tell you than Stark right now." Natasha explained.

"You don't owe me any explanation, but I would like to know." Steve said before leaning back into the chair once more.

"It's not a short story and who knows how long Clint is going to sleep," Natasha said with a laugh.

"I figured." Steve replied.

"My parents were killed in a fire when I was very young. I lived in an orphanage in Russia for about a year before the Red Room came. The Red Room is where I was trained to become The Black Widow." Natasha began.

She stood up and walked over to the window on her left. She peered out the blinds and sighed. She crossed her arms across her chest and turned back to Steve.

"Training in the Red Room is no easy task. You fail, you are killed. You disappoint the Master, you are tortured. There is very little medical staff, so you learn to heal yourself. There were 12 other girls there with me. Your goal was to outlive them, to overpower them. Despite how hard you tried, you couldn't help but become friends."

She studied Steve's face for any form of reaction. His eyes remained soft and understanding as always and he gave her a small nod to continue.

"For some reason the Master saw potential in me. I was trained privately for many weeks. I learned to be faster, stronger, and smarter than the others. Of course, being that close to the Master had its benefits and disadvantages. I got better food and a better bed, but that's it. I was punished more severely. With him I lost myself. I was 13 when he began his sexual punishments. I did whatever I could to avoid these encounters and unfortunately that meant killing people. To stay alive, I killed every one of the other girls in my class. There isn't a night that I can't hear their screams and pleas."

Natasha slowly walked back over to the couch and slumped down. It was hard to talk about this. She had only done it with one other person and that one person was Clint.

"You did it to live Natasha. Some horrible things require a different point of view." Steve said.

Natasha gave him a weak smile, "I have tried that before, but the nightmares typically cause the pain to return."

"Have you ever thought of getting help for the nightmares?" Steve asked.

"No and I don't need it." Natasha said a blush creeping onto her face.

"They obviously bother you. You should get some help." He continued.

"Like I said I don't need help. Clint keeps the nightmares at bay." She said softly.

Steve smiled, "Good."

Natasha frowned, "After I became the last one, I had thought that I would be safe. Instead I became an experiment. Over a period of about 5 months, I lost count of the procedures. I do know that I have been found to have enhanced healing. I also know that I am not able to have children. An assassin doesn't have time for love or children. Once I became their lifeless killing machine I took on multiple missions that earned me a bad reputation with S.H.I.E.L.D. I won't tell you the details of those missions."

"I understand." Steve said.

"Then came Clint." Natasha continued. She could see a smile on the Captain's face.

"You smile, but it's not a happy meeting. Clint was sent to kill me in Moscow. He nearly had too. After two weeks of tracking me, Clint finally cornered me in an alley. He had the tip of his arrow digging into my chest right here," Natasha explained. She touched the center of her chest right where her heart would be.

Steve could see a small scar underneath her fingertips.

"At first I had no clue why he didn't kill me. He was the first to ever capture me, but when the moment came he made a different call." She said.

"I saw myself." Clint said from his place in the doorway.

Natasha whipped around to see him standing there in a different set of pajamas. He looked like he hadn't been up for long. He walked over to Natasha and sat down next to her.

"I saw the same pain and anger that I had in myself. I knew that if S.H.I.E.L.D. had given me a new life, then there was hope for her." Clint said patting her knee.

"Damn, now that's a love story." Steve exclaimed.

Natasha laughed, "If you say so. He convinced me to come back with him and then I met Coulson. Coulson and I almost immediately got along. It was Phil who ultimately convinced Fury to give me a chance. I gave the condition that Clint be my partner and that I be trained by him. I didn't trust anyone else."

"And we just clicked, I guess," Clint chuckled.

"Then what the hell happened in Budapest?" Steve asked.

Both Clint and Natasha frowned. Natasha looked away from the two men back towards the window.

"The mission went as planned in the beginning. Natasha and I took down the leader of the cell we had been tracking in no time. Then the problems came. As we were attempting to get out of the city, we were ambushed by followers of the cell. We were under heavy fire and both of us were running low on ammo. Not to brag or anything, but we cleared them with ease. Both of us were exhausted, I was down to my last arrow and Tasha was out of bullets. We had stopped to catch our breath. Natasha had stopped and was talking about going to go out for ice cream when my heart stopped. We had missed one man, just one. He shot Natasha in the abdomen through her back. I shot that bastard down faster than he could smile." Clint said.

Natasha shifted uncomfortably, "I don't remember anything after that."

"I called Coulson and held pressure on the wound as hard as could. Coulson and I managed to get you into the Quinjet. We got you to the Helicarrier as fast as we could. I remember the look on all the other agents faces as they wheeled the two of us in on the gurney. Both of us were covered in blood and dirt."

FLASHBACK

"_Get the medical staff ready! We got a serious GSW to the abdomen!" Coulson yelled as he jogged ahead of the gurney. _

_Clint straddled Natasha's legs as he held pressure on her middle. He could see the blood seeping through his fingers. He watched her eyelids flutter. _

"_Stay with me, Tasha!" Clint yelled shaking her slightly._

_Natasha groaned and looked up at him, "You look horrible." She rasped followed by a deep cough. _

"_Right back at ya', just keep your eyes open." Clint begged. _

_He could see the shocked looks on the agents' faces as they sped by, many turning and whispering to the person next to them. They could fuck off, what was going on was none of their business._

"_Clint," Natasha choked out. _

_Clint snapped his head back down to his partner, "Yeah?"_

"_I'm cold," she whispered tears gathering in the corners of her eyes._

"_I know, I know, just hold on. We are almost there," Clint said his eyesight beginning to blur from his own tears. _

_Only two more hallways, why did the damn medical center have to be so far away?_

"_Clint, I lov…" Natasha began before going limp._

"_NO! NO! NO! STAY WITH ME TASHA!" Clint growled. He shifted his hands to her chest and began CPR. He tilted her head back to blow air into her lungs, still no movement._

_He could feel his own sobs shaking his body. _

"_Don't leave me! Please, Tasha, don't leave me! I love you!" Clint sobbed as he was pulled off the gurney and she was ushered away to surgery. _

_Coulson wrapped his arms around the archer's shoulders and pulled him away._

"_Easy Clint, they've got her." He whispered trying to calm him. _

_Clint fell to his knees, bringing Phil down with him. It was too much. He couldn't lose her. He just couldn't._

FLASHBACK

"She was in surgery from 5 hours. Her heart stopped twice on the table. I had honestly thought I had lost her. Sure we had been in some rough situations, but this was it. I knew that I needed her." Clint finished.

"I'm glad they were able to save you Natasha. You are a great person." Steve said.

"I wanted to tell you all this because Clint and I are going to get married." Natasha said finally making eye contact with Steve again.

"Really?!" Steve exclaimed.

Clint laughed, "Yeah, she finally agreed. We both decided that we wanted you to be the witness. We were going to have a little ceremony while we were here."

"Me? Wow, I would be honored, but don't you need two witnesses?" Steve replied.

"Oh shit," Natasha mumbled.

"And there is no way you could separate Pepper and Tony." Steve continued.

"We could just grab some random hotel staff member." Clint grumbled.

"No! We need someone we can trust." Natasha said. She stood up and left the room quickly.

The two men watched her leave and then looked back at each other.

"What is she doing?" Steve asked.

A few moments passed before the heard a loud yell from down the hall. Clint and Steve jumped up and ran out into the hallway.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Hawaiian wedding!" Tony exclaimed.

They saw Pepper hug Natasha, who then turned around and went back to Clint.

She stood up on her tip toes and whispered into his ear, "Tonight we are getting married."

Clint's eyes grew wide as he watched her walk back into their room.

"Hey Groom! We got to go find you a tux! Or some form of nice clothing!" Tony called out. "Get some clothes on Cap! You are coming too!"

Clint rolled his eyes and nodded at Steve, who retreated into his own room.

Clint entered his room and shut the door behind him and leaned against it heavily.

"Natasha," He called.

She came into view wearing only her matching lace bra and underwear.

"Yes?" she replied coyly.

Clint smiled and picked himself up. He strode over to her and placed his hands on her hips.

"We're getting married," he said softly before capturing her lips with his own.

She broke away and smiled back, "And I believe we have time for one round before you go."

Clint grinned and backed her up against the bed. She scooted back up to the pillows and he crawled up her body to kiss her on the lips again. She sighed heavily into his mouth, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth. Clint ran his hands down her sides, relishing in her soft skin. Natasha pushed him away gently, gasping for air.

"Tasha, we don't have much time before…" Clint began before he was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Come on Hawk! Sex can wait!" Tony called banging on the door again.

"You better go, I really don't want Stark bursting in on us." Natasha said pecking him on the lips quickly.

Clint groaned and rolled off of her. "I'm coming Stark! Hold on!" he called out.

Clint dressed quickly and then crawled back onto the bed with Natasha.

He straddled her hips and bent down to kiss her neck. "I'll be back as quickly as I can so we can finish this." He breathed into her ear causing her to shiver.

He smiled and rolled off the bed. He grabbed his wallet and room key before glancing back at her one last time before heading out the door.

Stark clapped Clint on the back, "Let's go!"

Clint rolled his eyes and followed him and Steve down the hallway. It was going to be a long day.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm in a good mood so here is another chapter for fun. :)

* * *

Chapter 6

Shopping with Natasha was something he could handle, but shopping with Tony Stark was an absolute nightmare.

Clint grumbled as Tony dragged him and Steve into yet another high end tux store. He didn't need imported cashmere or expensive silk shirts to get married in. Hell, if Clint had his way he would be getting married in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hey Legolas, come here! I need to see what color your eyes are!" Tony called from the opposite end of the store. Clint hadn't realized that he had barely even entered the store.

He shuffled towards Tony dreading what was in store.

"Here I am," Clint grumbled shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Come on, don't be a party pooper this is your party!" Tony exclaimed flashing him a bright smile.

Clint smiled slightly back and turned to Steve for help.

"Tony, perhaps you should ask Clint what he would like to wear instead of picking it for him," Steve suggested grabbing the light pink shirt Tony held and placing hit back on the rack.

"But," Tony protested.

"Tony, not everyone likes to wear bright colors." Steve explained.

"Says the man who wears a bright spangled suit!" Tony grumbled. He crossed his arms across his chest and sighed. "Fine, go for it Birdy."

Clint sighed in relief and moved away from the colored fabrics. In the back of the store he spied a section that looked pretty safe. The two other men followed the archer in silence.

Clint scanned the racks on suits carefully. He took a deep breath and pushed the suits aside to see what was available.

The first suit had a coattail, which was an absolute no. The second was black velvet which got go reception from Tony, but all Clint could think about was how hot it would be. The third suit, however, was perhaps the simplest one of the bunch.

It was black with matching pants and waist coat. The material was incredibly soft against his rough fingertips. He pulled it out and turned to face Steve and Tony.

"How about this?" he asked holding it up.

Steve nodded and smiled. Tony cocked his head to the side. Steve rolled his eyes and elbowed Tony.

"Yeah, that one is good." Tony yelped rubbing his arm.

"I need a shirt and tie. Tony you can go get those. Do NOT go crazy," Clint said.

The billionaire grinned and bounced back towards the shirts.

"Do you have shoes?" Steve asked.

"Don't need them. I figured we were going to do this thing on the beach." He replied.

"Ok here, try this!" Tony exclaimed shoving a shirt and tie into Clint's arms and turning him towards the dressing room.

Clint stumbled in hung up the suit. He sighed and peeled off his clothes slowly. He paused as he began to pull the pants on. This was really happening. He was shopping for a suit for his and Natasha's wedding. It was so surreal.

He pulled the pants on and reached for the shirt. To his surprise, it was white. He rolled his eyes noticed that it was silk. He slipped his arms into the sleeves relishing in the feeling of the cool fabric brushing against his skin. He quickly buttoned it up and shoved the bottom into his pants. Next was the tie. This too was a surprise. Tony had listened and stayed within the box. The tie was light silver that went well with his eyes. He tied it around his neck and slipped the waist coat on. After some more buttoning and the jacket, Clint stepped out to see the two men waiting.

He held his arms out, "Tada."

"Clint, it looks great. You wouldn't have to get it hemmed at all." Steve said smiling softly.

Tony circled Clint occasionally prodding him in spots and tugging on the jacket in places.

"Tony! Stop it you're making me feel like I'm your prey or something," Clint exclaimed swatting his hand away.

"It's good, let's go for it." Tony said with a short nod.

Clint rolled his eyes and slipped back into the room. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror as he changed. He didn't want to see what he looked like in the suit just yet.

"Gimme the clothes boy so I can pay for them!" Tony called out.

Clint gathered the suit up in his arms and shoved it out the door quickly so he could finish getting dressed.

"I didn't mean wad it up and throw it at me!" Tony yelled.

Clint chuckled and pulled his own clothes back on. He found Steve waiting for him outside the door.

"Tony is paying," he said simply nodding in the direction of the front. Clint glanced around the corner seeing Tony at the register and then back at Steve.

"Hey I have a question." Clint began. "Do you think you could walk Natasha down the aisle? Ya' know do the whole giving her away thing. I think she would prefer you."

Steve looked taken back, "Wow, of course I can. That just means Tony is your best man."

"Ha, he wouldn't have let me live it down if he wasn't." Clint replied looking back towards Tony.

He noticed that he was now on the phone.

"Come on, we better go." Clint said patting Steve's shoulder before heading towards Tony.

Tony shoved the bags into Clint's arms and then put a finger up telling them to hold on.

"Yes, thank you very much! See you tonight," Tony said before hanging up. "Okay I got the justice of the peace for tonight all squared away. We are ready to go! Pepper texted me and said that she and Natasha got some flowers so we don't have to worry about that."

"Okay, now what?" Clint said shifting the bags into his hands.

"We go get ready! Unfortunately, there is no time for a bachelor party. Whatever, we'll multi task!" Tony exclaimed causing both Clint and Steve to cringe as they followed him back to the car.

Natasha knocked softly on Pepper and Tony's door. After a moment, Pepper opened the door smiling.

"I figured I would be seeing you soon," She said stepping aside and motioning for her to come in.

"I was just wondering if you would possibly help me get ready. My dress is back in my room so if you want to come down there that might be easier." Natasha said nodding down the hall.

Pepper pulled the door shut and nodded. "You have a point there."

The two women walked quietly down the hall and into Natasha and Clint's room.

"I only have basic supplies, Pepper. I'm not really one to dress up much when it's not a mission," Natasha said as she walked over to retrieve her make up bag from the bathroom.

"I'm sure you've got enough." Pepper assured her as Natasha sat down and handed the bag.

She dug around and found some nail polish and a file.

"This will work for your nails. Come here," pepper said sitting down next to the coffee table where she set the bag down on.

Natasha slowly sat down across from her and handed Pepper her hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Natasha." Pepper said giving her hand a slight squeeze.

Natasha gave her a small smile, "I just don't do this type of thing."

"It's okay, I understand. So tell me about you and Clint," Pepper said raising her eyebrows.

Natasha could feel her face flush, "What do you want to know?"

"EVERYTHING! It's not like we know much about you two in the first place. I only knew you as Natalie Rushman, so I'm not sure how accurate that was," Pepper exclaimed as she began her work.

"Everything I told you while I was Natalie was the truth and before you ask, the man I spoke of was Clint," Natasha started. "I met Clint in Moscow. I was 18 and he was 20….."

_For being Russian, Natasha hated the snow. She turned up the collar on her fur coat against the wind and pulled on her sleeves. The snow was cold and wet and got everywhere. _

_She glanced around frowned. The man that had been following her since last week was nowhere to be found. She scoffed at the thought that the man thought he was being stealthy. She had to give him props though. He blended in well to the normal eye, but she was far from normal. She was trained to see the unordinary. _

_Natasha turned down the alley that led back towards her apartment the Red Room had given her. The heels of her boats echoed on the cobblestone as she walked. She sighed and pulled her coat tighter. She couldn't wait to get inside and warm up. _

_She fumbled with her keys in her pocket and froze. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as the wind picked up. Slowly, Natasha shifted her right hand out of her pocket and onto the gun that sat concealed on her hip. As soon as her fingers touched the cool metal, she whipped around and caught a glance of the man. _

_He released the arrow her had strung, giving Natasha seconds to react. She yanked the confining coat off and lunging to the right of the arrow, causing it to graze her shoulder. She regained her footing and pulled out her gun only to have the man's boot connect with her wrist causing it to fly out of her hand. _

_Natasha whipped her head up and caught the man's right arm in her hand, twisting it sharply causing him to groan. _

_Using his weight as leverage she jumped up and back flipped off of his chest pushing him back. She landed gracefully to see her attacker stumble slightly. _

_She turned around and sprinted towards the spot where her gun had landed. Another arrow soared past her and into her gun. _

_The weapon would be no use to her now. The Widow sprinted down the alley, her lungs screaming from the cold air. _

_She turned quickly towards the ladder at the end of the alley and grasped the rungs. _

_She yelped when she felt her shirt being yanked backwards. _

_She collided with the ground hard, causing all the air in her lungs to leave. _

_The man pinned her down with his legs, his knees pinning down her arms, his body straddling her own. Above her he had his bow pulled back ready to shoot. The tip of his arrow dug into her chest painfully. _

"_Not so fast Widow," He growled. _

"_Shoot, go on. You got me," Natasha said steeling her gaze. _

_The man stared at her and hardened his expression. "Come on, you're not going to even try."  
_

"_No, why should I?" _

_The man relaxed his bow slightly, "Shouldn't you want to live?"_

"_What do I have to live for? To take down more targets? If I die now it will be no different than if I die tomorrow, or the next day. I shall die alone," Natasha said._

_The man's expression softened. He relaxed his bow completely and began to stand. _

_Natasha couldn't believe this. _

"_There is another option," the man said holding his bow at his side._

_Natasha slowly stood up and brushed the snow off of her. "Another option other than death? Not where I come from."_

_The man stepped closer, causing her to step back. She followed his gaze to her chest where the arrow had been. The wound bled slowly down into her shirt._

"_These people gave me another option. I want to extend that to you. You're just a kid." The man said putting his arrow back into his quiver._

"_I am not a child!" Natasha exclaimed crossing her arms._

"_Fine, young lady." The man chuckled. "Just trust me, I can help you."_

"_This coming from the man that just tried to kill me," Natasha scoffed._

"_I made a different call. Let me help you," he said._

_Natasha paused. Why should she trust this man? He looked to be only a few years older than her, what did he know about this type of lifestyle? _

"_I don't even know your name," she said softly._

"_It's Clint," he replied._

"_I'm Natasha," _

"_I know, it was on your file," Clint laughed. _

Natasha touched the scar on her chest with her other hand and smiled.

"That's why you think you owe him? He chose not to kill." Pepper asked.

"Yes and no. I owe him in many ways. Clint choosing not to kill me is just one of the reasons." Natasha said inspecting Pepper's work.

Pepper smiled and took Natasha's other hand.

"The two of us have been through hell together. He is my best friend, my partner, and the man I love." Natasha said.

"Do you know how adorable that sounded?" Pepper giggled.

Natasha laughed, "Wow."

The two sat silently as Pepper finished. Once done, Natasha blew gently on her nails to get them to dry.

"Now, what about your hair?" Pepper asked.

"No clue. Do we even have a time for this thing?" Natasha asked.

"Yes we do! I got some flowers ordered to arrive tonight and the justice is going to arrive at 5:00. So the whole ceremony can be around 5:30." Pepper replied.

Natasha glanced over at the clock and sighed. They had just a little over two hours. Tony had kidnapped Clint ages ago. Once he had left Natasha had decided to take a nap only just woke up to go find Pepper.

"I've got an idea for the hair," Natasha said turning back to Pepper smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the late update... but here is a big chapter :)

* * *

Chapter 7

Clint swatted Tony's hands away from his collar, "Geez, Stark I've got it."

"Sure you do and the tie sticking out in the back is nothing," Tony mocked throwing his hands up in protest.

Clint groaned and fumbled with his collar. He turned back to the mirror and looked himself over. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Steve emerge from the bathroom. The Captain tugged at his coattail and smoothed out his pants.

"Why are you making me wear this Tony?" Steve mumbled.

"Because you are walking the bride down the aisle and you don't need to wear jeans," Tony said pulling on his own coat.

Steve turned around and faced Clint, "You look great."

Clint smiled weakly and looked back into mirror. His heart began to beat faster. This was really going to happen.

"Have you heard from Pepper?" Clint asked turning towards Tony.

"Yes I have! We have about 10 minutes before we need to be down at the beach." Tony said patting Clint on the shoulder.

Clint gulped, "Hey Steve, can you hand me that box on the bedside table?"

Steve nodded and retrieved the box. Clint sat down on the couch and pulled out a chain from around his neck. At the end of the small chain was a little key at matched the lock on the box.

He opened it up and retrieved a small velvet box from inside. He turned it over a few times in the palm of his hand before closing the bigger box.

"I was going to ask if you had a ring," Tony said walking closer.

Clint chuckled, "I've had it for a while."

"How long?" Steve asked smoothing his hair down once more.

"Since Budapest," Clint replied before tucking the box into his chest pocket.

"Time to go Mr. Groom," Tony said opening the door and ushering Clint out.

Clint silently went into autopilot and let Tony direct him towards the beach. He felt as if his heart was going to explode.

The sight before him made him smile. There were just a few chairs and tiki torches lighting the area.

"Ah! Wait, you need this!" Tony gasped dramatically grabbing the corsage from Steve and pinning it to Clint's suit. "And this is Justice Warren Peace Willington…. he's going to be doing the ceremony."

Clint shook the man's hand and took his place at the end of the little aisle. Tony gave him thumbs up and ducked back into the hotel.

Steve patted Clint on the shoulder, "It's going to be great. I better go see if she is ready."

Clint chuckled nervously. "She" meant Natasha. Natasha. The woman he was going to marry. His heart jumped up into his throat as the Justice to his place.

Tony came back out with Pepper on his arm.

"Here we go!" Tony exclaimed causing Pepper to roll her eyes.

The two walk down the aisle and Pepper took her place across from Clint and Tony stood behind Clint.

"You're good now!" Tony yelled before whipping out his phone and pressing some icons.

The wedding march began to play out of the small speakers on Tony's phone. Clint turned around and smiled at the billionaire.

"No problem, buddy. Now turn around," Tony whispered.

Clint turned back around and his jaw dropped.

At the end of the aisle stood Steve with Natasha on his arm. She looked amazing; no amazing didn't even touch how beautiful she was.

The dress had looked beautiful in the store, but now in sunset it looked gorgeous against her ivory skin. Her red curls were pulled back into an elegant bun with white flowers lacing in and out in the back. As the two walked closer in perfect step, Clint felt as if he forgot to breathe.

He didn't hear the Justice begin to speak once Steve and Natasha reached the makeshift altar. Steve handed Clint Natasha's hands and took a seat next to Tony. Clint looked up from their joined hands into Natasha's eyes.

"Breathing is a good idea," she whispered with a smile.

"I'm working on it," he chuckled giving her hands a light squeeze.

The two stood silently, each staring at the other. Clint wore a goofy grin that made Natasha want to crack up.

"Do you have the rings?" Justice Willington asked nodding towards Clint.

"Oh! Hold on," Clint said reluctantly letting go of Natasha's hands to reach into his chest pocket. He pulled out the velvet box and opened it up.

He saw Natasha's eyes widen. He glanced up briefly giving her a look that said to ask him later.

He handed his to Natasha and held onto hers.

"Do you have vows?" asked Justice Willington

"I do, I don't know about Natasha," Clint said his voice cracking slightly.

"I didn't know we were doing that," she said looking down.

"Nat, it's okay came up with this about 15 minutes ago." Clint replied.

"Ok, if you are ready you can say them now," the justice said with a smile.

Clint took a deep breath and grasped Natasha's hands.

"I, Clinton Francis Barton, choose you, Natalia Alianovna Romanova, as my best friend for life. Through the good and bad, I want you to always know that I will be by your side. I will be there for you in the ups and downs of life. I commit myself to you as not just your friend, but as your husband and partner for life."

"Do you, Clint Barton, take Natasha Romanoff to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the justice asked turning to Clint.

"I do," Clint said softly allowing Natasha to slide his ring on his finger.

"And do you, Natasha Romanoff, take Clint Barton to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the justice asked turning to Natasha.

"I do," Natasha choked out allowing Clint to slide the ring onto her finger.

"Then by the power invested in me, I pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may now kiss the bride," the justice announced.

Natasha practically launched herself into Clint's arms; her lips crashing into his. Tony wolf whistled in the background while Steve and Pepper clapped.

Once they broke apart, Justice Willington had the two sign their marriage certificate, as well as Tony, Pepper, and Steve as witnesses. He smiled and said that he would have a copy delivered to their home within a week, before making his exit.

Clint held Natasha's hand tightly. He ran his finger over her ring, smiling to himself.

"Well, I figured you two wouldn't want a reception or anything, so I snuck back into your room and left you guys your present," Pepper said hugging each of them.

"Thank you," Natasha said smiling brightly.

"Off you go love birds!" Tony exclaimed shooing them away.

Clint laughed and pulled Natasha back into the hotel towards the elevator. Never had he felt so awkward in an elevator of people. The two stood at the back holding hands, trying not to burst into laughter at the looks the other passengers were giving them. They were the only two left on once they reached their floor. Clint unlocked the door and turned to Natasha.

"What?" She asked scrunching her eyebrows.

"I want to do this part right," Clint said before stepping forward and scooping her up into his arms.

"Seriously?!" she giggled. The sound was music to his ears.

"Yes, seriously." He replied before carrying her into the room bridal style.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I finished my homework so I decided to post another chapter :) this one has a lovely sex scene it so you have been warned, my friends.

Enjoy and don't forget to review! It makes my day when I get a notice that I have new reviews!

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Chapter 8

Clint set Natasha back on her feet once they had closed the door behind them. He watched her walk over to the coffee table, listening to the fabric of her dress rustle as she moved. He watched her take the flowers out of her hair and pull out a few pins, letting it fall down to her shoulders.

"This must be our gift from Pepper," She said holding up a small box with a red ribbon tied around it.

Clint walked over to her and flipped the attached card over. "It says, 'Sorry it's not a cake,' Love Pepper." He read aloud.

Natasha carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box to reveal one simple cupcake. The frosting was pure white with small little blue flowers as decoration.

"It's so pretty, I don't want to eat it." She whispered as she pulled it out of the box.

"We don't have to, Nat," he said touching her elbow.

"But it's our wedding cupcake. We should," she laughed.

Clint chuckled, "Okay fine, you take the first bite."

Natasha smiled and bit into the cupcake. She let out a low moan as she chewed.

"Oh my god, it's amazing!" she mumbled through her mouth full.

Clint leaned over and to take a bite right as Natasha was bringing it up to him. He ended up getting a mouth and nose full of cupcake.

Natasha burst out laughing once she saw what she had done. Clint swallowed his bite and gave her a goofy grin.

"You're right it is good," He said.

Still in a fit of laughter, Natasha reached over to the coffee table and set down the remainder of the cupcake. She grabbed a tissue and handed it to her partner who wiped off the frosting from his nose.

"Come here, you," he mumbled wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her body flush against his.

He bent his head down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. The one during the ceremony had been too short for his liking.

Natasha was the first to break away, smiling as she did so.

"What?" he murmured, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"You taste like frosting," she uncharacteristically giggled.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

"No, I like it," she replied before leaning into to kiss him again.

Clint began to walk her backwards towards the bed. He paused just before the foot and pulled away.

"How do I get you out of this thing?" he murmured against her lips.

He felt her smile as she placed her hands on top of his, leading them to the laces in the back of the dress. He began his work on the laces as she fumbled with his tie. She managed to get him to pause so she could slide his jacket off his shoulders.

She ran her hands up and down his arms relishing in the softness of the shirt.

"Tony picked this out didn't he?" she mumbled into his ear.

Clint grinned and kissed the junction between her neck and shoulder, "Yes."

He ran his calloused fingers along her spine up to her shoulders to the top of the dress. Gently he peeled the bodice away revealed her beautiful ivory skin. He knelt down as he pulled the dress down, his fingertips ghosting over her skin causing her to shiver from the contact.

He nudged her to step out of the garment and flung it over to where it landed on the couch. He kissed the inner part of her thigh earning him a small moan.

Clint smiled and began to work his way back up her body. He wanted to pamper her, to indulge her in every way. He wanted to show her how much he loved her.

Once back up to her height, he let his hands wander over her curves. He traced the sides of her breasts down to her backside before coming in between them, just grazing over her panty covered center causing her to hiss at him.

Natasha pulled at his sleeves, aching for more contact.

"You have too many clothes on," she growled as he peppered her neck with kisses.

She felt him chuckle as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. Why were there so many damn buttons?

After the last one, she shoved the shirt off and tossed it aside, her hands immediately coming back to touch his sculpted chest. There were amazing benefits of being with an archer. For one thing, he had gorgeous set of arms and chest. She ran her hands over every muscle, feeling each one tense and flex under her touch.

She wandered down to his backside and gripped his ass playfully causing him to laugh against her skin.

Natasha pushed him away for a moment so she could reach the buckle on his belt. She made quick work of the belt and slid his pants down, tossing them in the same direction of the shirt. Slowly she stood back up, catching his gaze as he watched her.

She ran her hands up his thighs as she rose, brushing lightly over the bulge in front. She watched him suck in a deep breath and close his eyes, trying to regain his composure. She kissed him softly on the lips as he brought hands to rest on her hips.

"That's not fair," he groaned.

"Who said we were playing fair?" she replied giving him a coy smile.

Clint smiled and pushed her back into the bed. She scooted up further pulling him with her. He draped his body over hers possessively.

He smiled at her and slid down her body, pausing over the apex in between her thighs. He hooked his fingers under the bands and pulled the scrap of fabric down her long legs. He crawled back up her body and straddled her hips. He wrapped his arms under her back and lifted her up against him. She, in return, wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

Clint expertly unclasped her bra and slid it off in between them. Her skin was so soft against his. He couldn't get enough of the simple feeling of just holding her.

Natasha pushed him down to where his head was at the foot of the bed. She then sat up straddling his hips. Clint looked up at her, his eyes full of his want for her.

She traced his abs before stopping at the waist band of his boxers. She looked up at him and kept eye contact as she pulled them off and tossed them aside.

She scaled his body back up to where her face met his and pressed her body against his. Clint groaned at the full skin on skin contact. He pulled her against him and sat back up into their starting position, then gently laid her back down so that he was on top of her.

Natasha could feel his erection against her thigh, sending a thrill through her body. She had never been with anyone like this, except for Clint. Back when she was her old self she used sex to get information; it was never about love or commitment.

But with Clint that all changed. For such a strong and intimidating man, he was really a kind and gentle lover underneath it all. Every touch, every kiss, every move he made with her was perfect.

Clint propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at her. He tucked a stray red curl behind her ear.

"Tasha," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I love you," he replied softly, staring into her eyes.

There was a pause for a moment before she reached up and touched his face.

"I love you, too," she whispered.

Clint bent down and kissed her deeply as he entered her slowly. She gasped at the feeling of him inside her.

He pushed into the hilt and stopped. The two just held each other reveling in the feeling; just listening to their deep breathing.

And then he moved. Natasha arched her back as he slid out and back in with a little more force. He began to set a slow rhythm. He bent his head down and captured her left breast his mouth, sucking lightly on her hardened nipple.

She moaned her approval and brought her hands up into his short hair. He thrust forward a little harder at her action in turn causing her to buck her hips against his. He detached from her left breast and moved to the right earning more moaning.

She tugged at his hair after a bit and pulled his mouth up to her own. Hungrily, she explored his mouth and wrestled with his tongue. She bucked her hips against his again urging him to keep moving.

Clint broke away to breath and balanced himself above her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles at the small of his back. The two groaned at the slight change in angle and depth. He pulled back slightly and thrust back in hard.

Natasha yelped and pushed back against him. Clint smiled and repeated his action, slowly increasing his speed. He wanted this to last as long as he could.

He could feel her insides begin to flutter around him as he kept increasing his pace.

"Please, Clint," she breathed as she crawled at his back, sure to leave marks.

Clint slammed into her again and again as he felt a knot begin to tighten in his belly.

"Nat, you feel so amazing," he mumbled against her skin as he kissed her neck.

A layer of sweat had begun to form over their bodies, adding to the friction. Natasha moaned as he continually hit the right spot.

"I'm so close, Clint. Please, faster," Natasha gasped bucking against him wildly.

"Me too Tasha," he managed to say before increasing his pace again. His thrusts began to become erratic and rushed.

He felt Natasha clamp her walls down around him, yelling his name. A couple of thrusts later Clint fell over the edge, Natasha's name on his lips. He collapsed next to her breathing heavily.

Natasha rolled over and curled up into his arms.

"Clint, I love you," she mumbled into his chest.

He ran a hand through her hair and down her back, "I love you too."

"Clint," she said.

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"We're married," she whispered.

Clint kissed the top of her head, "Yes we are."

"I don't want to sleep," she continued.

"Why?" he asked a bit of concern in his voice.

"I'm afraid that if I do, I'll wake up and this will all be a dream," she replied her voice cracking at the end.

He could feel wetness on his chest where she lay. He brought his hand up under her chin and tilted her face up towards him.

"This isn't a dream. I will always be here," he murmured. He kissed her slowly and lovingly.

"Don't ever leave me," she said as she nuzzled his neck.

He reached down for the sheets that had gotten tangled at their feet and pulled them up over them. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her close.

"I won't ever leave you, I promise." He whispered into her hair before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to wash over him.


	9. Chapter 9

a/n: and here is another chapter :) I would love to see more reviews. I have tons of alerts and favorites but no reviews to match it :(

This chapter seriously came to me in a dream. It freaked me out and frantically wrote it down in my first class the next day. So we shall see how this goes.

Anyways enjoy!

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Chapter 9

Natasha slowly opened her eyes as she reached over to her partner. Her hand was met with a cool empty space where Clint had been the night before. Confused, she held the sheet to cover herself and sat up looking around.

She spotted his pile of clothes from last night and her dress draped over the back of the couch, however no Clint.

"Clint?" she called out her voice cracking slightly.

The bathroom door swung open and the archer's head popped out with a toothbrush hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"You okay?" he asked pulling the toothbrush out.

"Yeah, I just couldn't find you," she said smiling softly at him.

"Okay, don't get up. I'll be out in a second," Clint said before bowing back into the bathroom.

Natasha sighed and looked around for her underwear. She spotted them not to far away and quickly slipped out from under the covers to retrieve them. She pulled them on and dove back into sheets, happily sinking back into the pillows.

She relaxed just as Clint reemerged. He wore only his boxers. He grabbed a tray on his way back to the bed and gently set it down in front of Natasha.

"I wanted to give you breakfast in bed because you know as soon as we get back to New York we won't have a chance to again." He said crossing over to the other side and crawling in next to her.

Natasha peered at the meal before her. There was a small stack of pancakes with slices of strawberries forming a heart on top. On the side was a small glass of orange juice and a beautiful hibiscus flower.

She pushed herself up to a better sitting position. "Have you eaten?" she asked picking up the fork.

"Yeah, I had a bagel and an apple," He said leaning back on the pillows.

She dug into the pancakes, savoring the flavor.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked sipping her juice.

"I talked to Tony this morning and we have one less day than planned. He couldn't get plane tickets for us to go back on Sunday. So today we were going to do the whole waterfall Tony's secret hideout thing," Clint said.

"Sounds like fun," Natasha replied.

"It's no honeymoon," Clint sighed taking her hand in his.

"I don't need a honeymoon. These few days have been amazing." She said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Clint smiled, "Okay, if you are happy then I'm happy."

"You are already succeeding in the sucking up," Natasha joked.

"I try." Clint laughed

The two agents finished up breakfast and changed into their swimsuits and cover-ups. They met up with Tony, Pepper, and Steve down in the lobby.

"I packed lunches for all of us," Pepper said gesturing to the basket at her feet.

"Now that Mr. and Mrs. Hawk are here let's go!" Tony exclaimed pulling his sunglasses down over his eyes and turning on his heel towards the door.

Steve rolled his eyes and grabbed the basket before Pepper could.

"I've got it," he said flashing a quick smile before following Tony.

Clint grabbed the remaining bags and followed the other two men. Pepper hung back and walked with Natasha.

"Thank you for the cupcake, Pepper. It was great," Natasha said.

"I'm glad you liked it. Tony is working on the other part of your gift, but it won't be done till we get back to the Tower," Pepper explained.

"You guys don't have to more for us," Natasha mumbled rubbing her arm nervously.

She wasn't use to getting gifts of any kind. Clint did dote up her from time to time but it was in simple ways.

"Believe it or not, Tony has practically adopted all of you. It's a big step for him. He considers you guys family now and so do I," Pepper said patting Natasha on the shoulder.

"It's a big step for Clint and me too," Natasha said.

"Come on ladies! We need to get going!" Tony called out from the car.

Tony sat in the driver's seat with both Clint and Steve in the back. Natasha took the final backseat next to Clint and Pepper sat in front.

Tony revved the engine and sped off down the road. Clint laced his fingers in Natasha's giving her hand a squeeze. She turned her attention away from the road and onto her husband.

She smiled at him and leaned in giving him a kiss on the lips.

"Wow! PDA! Knock it off Birdies!" Tony yelped.

Natasha smacked him on the back of the head before returning to kissing Clint.

"Don't hit the driver!" Tony complained.

The drive continued on for about 15 minutes before Tony pulled off onto a dirt road and began driving up hill. A lot of bumps and curse words later, they finally came to a stop at a clearing.

"We have to walk a bit into the forest to get to the spring." Tony explained pointing towards a cleared path in the woods.

The team gathered up their bags and followed the billionaire into the woods. They didn't walk very far before the sound of falling water could be heard.

"Aaaaannd welcome to paradise!" Tony exclaimed turning around and gesturing to the towering waterfall.

The little spring was breath taking. The waterfall rose up about 50 feet and fell into a crystal clear pool. The ground surrounding the pool was cleared out of plants and was simply earth. The towering canopy of the surrounding trees made the whole atmosphere feel intimate and cool.

"Fun time," Clint whispered in Natasha's ear.

She chuckled and pulled out a towel to lie on the ground. Pepper and Tony had already shed their cover-ups and were wading into the pool.

Clint tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it over towards the bag.

"Hey Steve, you want to come jump with me?" Clint called out to the Captain.

Steve's face lit up. He nodded vigorously and followed Clint up the set to the top of the waterfall.

Natasha smiled and slipped out of her cover-up, shivering when the bare skin on her stomach met the cold air. She began to wade into the water next to Pepper and shielded her eyes to look up at Clint.

She saw the two men look over the edge of the fall. Steve backed up a few steps and then ran forward, jumping into a ball.

"CAPTAIN BALL!" Tony yelled excitedly.

Pepper and Natasha cracked up as Steve splashed down in the water. He reemerged with a huge smile on his face.

"That was awesome!" he exclaimed. "Come on Clint!"

Clint gave them thumbs up before taking a few steps back and running forward. He, however, did a different dive. Clint managed to complete two somersaults before diving head first into the water.

"He was in the circus. That shouldn't count!" Tony protested.

Natasha splashed Tony, "Why don't you jump then?"

Tony grumbled something inaudible and crawled out of the pool. Natasha looked around waiting for Clint to surface. She felt a small current at her heels causing her to turn around. She had just enough time to take a breath before she was dragged under by her ankle.

The water was a shook to her system. She felt two arms wrap around her middle and pull her up to the surface. She gasped and turned to see who had pulled her under, only to find herself face to face with Clint who was grinning stupidly.

"Hi," is all he said.

"Hi to you, too," she replied kissing him lightly.

He reached up and brushed her now wet curls out of her face.

"You gonna jump again, Clint?" Steve asked as he stood on the bank.

"Yeah, Cap. Let's go," Clint replied. He gave Natasha another quick kiss before joining Steve.

Natasha smiled to herself and pulled her wet hair away from her neck, wringing the water out as she did so.

She felt eyes staring into her back causing her to turn to see. She found Pepper looking over her and then quickly looking away.

"What's up?" Natasha asked casually.

"It's nothing," the red head practically squeaked.

Natasha's inner red flags flew up. Something was wrong.

"Pepper, what's wrong?" she asked taking a step closer.

"I didn't mean to stare," Pepper whispered.

Natasha gave her a confused look.

"You didn't have those scars in the pictures Tony pulled up of you modeling. It's just…a shock," Pepper explained softly.

"I don't see them as scars anymore," Natasha said offering the other woman a smile. "They are just stories."

"That's kind of poetic," Pepper chuckled.

"Well, that's what Clint says. He says each scar is just a souvenir of something I've done. Most of the ones on my back are from my past life. The ones here on my stomach and arms are from a lot of my missions with S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha explained.

"He probably has just as many, doesn't he?"

Natasha laughed, "Yeah a lot in the same places."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. It was just shocking. You are very beautiful and just seeing the evidence of all the fighting you have been through is difficult to add up."

"It's okay, Pepper. You're not the first person to ask me about them."

The two women smiled at each other and then turned their attention to the three men standing at the top of the water fall.

Tony stood staring uneasily over the edge of the waterfall with Clint and Steve behind him.

Natasha knew what was coming next.

Suddenly, Tony was falling failing his arms and legs around wildly in panic, just barely managing to curl up before impacting the water.

As soon as Tony resurfaced, Clint did another acrobatic dive followed by Steve who did another "captain ball".

This time Natasha was prepared for Clint's attack. She watched his movements carefully above the water and grabbed his wrist just before he touched her ankle. She yanked the archer up out of the water, laughing at the surprised expression on his face.

Clint sputtered for a moment then said, "Can't pull that one twice can I?"

"No my Hawk, you can't," Natasha replied giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

The group headed back to the hotel at sunset, each thoroughly exhausted and water logged.

Clint and Natasha retreated to their room to cherish the last few days they would have together without S.H.I.E.L.D. interfering.

Natasha shed her swimsuit and pulled on her comfy set of plain black bra and panties. She snatched a shirt from Clint's bag and pulled in on. Clint had stepped into the bathroom for a moment to change. Once he returned he smirked at the sight of her wearing his shirt.

"Hmm, I like that shirt on you better." Clint said.

Natasha turned around to see Clint standing at the foot of the bed in just his boxers.

"I like that look on you too," she quipped.

Clint smiled at her and walked over to the couch.

"I was thinking we could watch a movie tonight," he said picking up the remote to the large flat screen.

"Except we can never decide on a movie," Natasha replied as she skillfully hopped over the back of the couch and landed on the cushions with a soft thump.

"We can always try something new," Clint said taking a seat next to her.

He switched on the TV and scrolled through the channels till he reached the Pay-Per-View section.

"We could watch The Hunger Games. I've heard it was good," he suggested.

"You just like the fact the main character uses a bow. I am not going to listen to you correct her form for the next two hours," Natasha pointed out.

"You have a point," he replied.

He continued to scroll until he reached the children's section.

"I've never seen the Lion King," Natasha said causing Clint to pause on the channel.

"You're kidding me? It's like a rite of passage for a kid to see the Lion King!" Clint exclaimed.

"In case you forgot, I grew up in Russia and didn't exactly have a normal childhood," she replied.

"Right, well then Lion King it is," Clint said selecting the option.

He got up and walked over to the bed. He yanked one of the blankets off and brought it back to the couch. As he sat down, he draped it over Natasha and his legs. Natasha settled down next to Clint, letting her head rest on his shoulder while she pulled her legs up onto the couch.

As the opening song began, she glanced up at Clint. A smile crept on to her face as she studied his face.

"Are you mouthing the words?" she asked her amusement present in her tone.

Clint flushed, "No!" he yelped.

"Yes you are!" Natasha protested, a small laugh escaping her.

"Fine, I am. Don't make fun of me," Clint grumbled.

"I'm not. I think it's cute," Natasha replied scooting up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Clint rolled his eyes, but still smiled. He shifted his arm so that he could wrap it around Natasha's shoulders.

The two silently watched the movie, except for the occasional laugh at the characters.

As the credits rolled, Natasha sat up and stretched her arms.

"I liked it," She said with a yawn. The day's events finally had caught up to her.

"I'm glad. I use to watch it all the time with Barney when I was younger. We both know all the words," Clint said.

"That's the first time you have mentioned Barney in a while," Natasha said softly meeting his gaze.

"Yeah, well, it's just a memory I have with him, nothing more." Clint replied. "It's almost eleven. We should probably try and get some sleep since the flight is so early tomorrow."

Natasha nodded and grabbed the blanket on her legs as she got up, bringing it back to the bed with her. The two crawled into the enormous bed and scooted close to each other in the middle. Natasha laid her head down on Clint's chest, her left arm draped over his middle.

"I didn't mean to upset you," she murmured.

She felt his hand come up behind her and stroke her hair.

"You didn't upset me," he sighed. "It's just a part of my past that I wish I could fix."

"I know," she mumbled nuzzling him gently.

"I love you, Nat," Clint whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too," Natasha replied before closing her eyes and praying sleep would come quickly.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: and here is another chapter to kick off the weekend!

Note to reviewer (IcarusOwl) at the beginning Bruce said he had someone to go see. He went to see Betty... :) so that is why he is not really in this story much... However as a teaser to my readers he is important in the sequel...very important :)

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Chapter 10

6 AM came too quickly. Clint groaned as the alarm on his phone went off, telling him they had about 30 minutes before they were supposed to meet the others downstairs.

He turned the alarm off and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He rolled over and found the other side empty. His heart began to race as he sat up and scanned the room for his partner.

"Nat?" he called out. There was no response.

Clint swung his legs over the side of the bed and crossed over to the bathroom. He knocked lightly on the door, "Nat? You in there?"

"Yeah! Sorry I was brushing my teeth. You can come in," came Natasha's voice from behind the door.

Clint entered the room and found her sitting on the edge of the tub brushing her hair.

"Good Morning," she said smiling at him.

She was already dressed in a pair of jeans and a basic black t-shirt with her favorite pair of boots laced up ready to go.

"We have 30 minutes before we need to be downstairs," Clint said before quickly brushing his teeth and gathering up his stuff from the bathroom.

"I know. I pulled out some clothes for you and packed up my dress and your tux," Natasha replied following his lead in gathering up her things.

Clint dropped his stuff into the suitcase and grabbed the clothes Natasha had laid out. He quickly tugged the black shirt over his head and pulled the jeans on. He spotted his boots not far away and retrieved them. After pulling the laces tight he glanced up at Natasha.

She held his silver box in her hands and was looking at it with a curious expression.

"What?" Clint asked getting her attention.

"So what exactly do you keep in here?" she asked before setting it down into the suitcase.

"Just stuff," he answered simply.

"Stuff?" she replied raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, stuff," he said getting up and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She rolled her eyes, "Fine keep your secrets."

"When we get back to Stark Tower I'll show you. Right now, Tasha, we don't have time," Clint replied stuffing the remainder of his clothes into the suitcase.

"Ok, I'll hold you to that," she replied closing the case and zipping it up.

Clint set the suitcase up right and grabbed the bag that held her dress. He walked over to the door and held it open.

"Shall we Mrs. Barton?"

"Why thank you, Mr. Barton," Natasha laughed exiting the room.

The two boarded the elevator and rode down to the lobby. They found Tony, Pepper, and Steve waiting quietly in the armchairs that lined the room.

"I'll go turn in the key," Natasha said before breaking away towards the front desk.

"Morning," Clint greeted the group.

Tony nodded as he nursed his coffee. Pepper and Steve smiled.

Natasha rejoined the group quickly, "We're good to go."

They all silently shuffled out the door and into the two waiting cabs. The airport wasn't crowded this time, probably due to the fact it was six in the morning. They found their gate with ease and boarded the plane rather quickly. The five settled down into their first class seats and waited for the boarding to finish. Occasionally, a passenger would point at Tony or Steve and wave excitedly.

"Sometimes I hate being famous," Steve mumbled.

"And why is that my Star Spangled Man with a plan?" Tony asked peering back towards Steve.

"The attention gets annoying," Steve confessed.

Tony shook his head, "Annoying to you." He sunk back down into his seat and returned to the paper he was reading.

Natasha laid her head down on Clint's shoulder and closed her eyes. Clint smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head before closing his eyes as well.

The two were awoken by the voice of the flight attendant announcing their descent into New York.

It was nighttime now. The cold night air felt great as the group stepped out of the airport. Tony led them into the car pool area, where two Audi sat waiting.

Clint looked up and furrowed his eyebrows. In the distance, Stark Tower was clearly lit up.

"I had it fixed up while we were gone," Tony explained as he loaded his and Pepper's luggage into one of the Audis.

Steve picked up his bike while Natasha and Clint took the second Audi.

They all seemed to arrive back at the Tower at the same time, each pulling into a parking space in the garage next to each other. They piled into the elevator and paused.

Natasha examined the new panel on the elevator controls carefully. The top six buttons were no longer numbers, but symbols.

"Okay, Stark explain this one," She said gesturing to the panel.

"There is a floor for each of use. This one is for Legolas and Spider Girl," Tony began pointing to the second button that had a small arrow and spider on it. The first button depicted a hammer, obviously referring to Thor. The third had a picture of the Iron Man mask, the fourth had Steve's shield, the fifth was completely green for Bruce and the final one just had an "A".

"A is for Avengers. I wanted to keep our jobs out of our personal lives, so we'll do meetings there." Tony explained.

Pepper leaned over towards Natasha and whispered, "Told you Tony adopted everyone."

Natasha smiled and pushed the button for hers and Clint's floor. After a moment and the familiar ding, the two stepped out into a room that was decorated perfectly to suit them.

They heard the elevator ding behind them and Tony say, "Don't forget to explore!" before the others were gone.

Natasha let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Wow," she whispered trying to take in the sight before her.

"Wow is right," Clint said. "Let's find our room so we can put our stuff up."

To their right was a long hallway. Natasha tried the first door and smiled.

"I found it," she said to Clint.

The room was a decent size; much bigger than they were used to for sure. The walls were painted a pale blue that resembled the sky. There was a massive window on the back wall with a built in window seat that was covered in comfortable looking pillows. The bed was directly to the right of the door and was flanked with two matching bedside tables with lamps. Across from the bed was a dresser that held a flat screen TV.

Clint dropped the bag near the dresser and hung up the dress and tux in the massive walk in closet. He opened up the bathroom door and let out a low whistle.

"Nat, look at this," he said.

The bathroom was equally amazing. There was a huge Jacuzzi tub and separate stand up shower that would surely fit the two of them comfortably. There were double sinks on the vanity and linen closet just behind the door.

Natasha reached out and touched one of the towels that were hanging on the rack. The fabric was incredibly soft and luxurious.

"This will be great after a long mission," Clint said.

"Yeah much better than your apartment," Natasha commented.

"What's wrong with my apartment?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's tiny and falling apart," she replied exiting the bathroom.

"You have a point there. I would if Stark would help me sell it?" Clint wondered aloud.

"I'm sure he would. Come on let's look around," Natasha said grabbing his hand and pulling him out into the hallway.

They discovered that next to their room as another bedroom that held just a simple set of furniture. It was a good sized room with another big window and attached bathroom that was still nice, but much smaller compared to the master.

Further down the hall was the fun stuff. On the right was a door locked by scanner. Natasha tried to scan her hand just for fun and was surprised when it opened.

"Miss Romanoff, Mr. Stark would like me to tell you that both your hand print and Agent Barton's will work to unlock this room and the one across the hall." JARVIS announced.

"Thank You JARVIS," Natasha replied feeling slightly silly talking to thin air.

"Damn, he freaking gave us an armory!" Clint exclaimed walking over to the rack of bows.

The room was filled with many different forms of weaponry. There were racks of hand guns varying in size, a new set of Widow Bites, and endless amounts of ammo and arrows.

"I wonder what is across the hall," Natasha said turning to Clint.

His eyes lit up and he practically bolted out the door. He scanned his hand on the identical scanner and opened the door.

"No way! No freaking way!" Clint yelled.

Natasha entered the room and her jaw dropped. It was a fully equipped shooting range. There were targets set up along the far wall and they appeared to be movable. Clint picked up the bow that lay on the table by the door.

He strung an arrow and let it fly through the air towards the farthest target. It hit the bull's eye with a thump that echoed through the room.

He turned back at Natasha and grinned.

"This is awesome, Tasha!" He half whispered half yelled.

"Come on my Hawk, let's get some food." Natasha said wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a peck on the nose.

Clint smiled and set the bow back down. The two walked back out into the hall. They walked back to the living room, which led to the kitchen.

Natasha looked around the living room as Clint continued into the kitchen. The walls were painted a warm tan color. There was a large sectional with a coffee table in front of it. Off near the kitchen was a table with enough chairs to seat all of the Avengers.

The kitchen had a breakfast bar with stools under the counter. She turned around to the front door and saw that there was a long table along the wall that held a few photo frames that were empty. She frowned and turned back around.

There was a stone fireplace across from the couch. On the mantel, Natasha noticed there were a few more frames, however these held photos. She walked over to them and picked one up.

"Hey, Tasha! How does grilled cheese with tomato soup sound?" Clint called from the kitchen.

After she didn't respond, he came back out into the living room and crossed over to her.

"Look," she said her voice cracking slightly.

She held the frame out towards him, her eyes swimming with tears. Clint took the frame in his hand and he found himself at a loss for words.

It was a picture of the two of them. It was a picture of the two of them kissing right after they had been declared husband and wife. They looked so happy…so in love.

"I didn't even know that they took pictures," Natasha whispered. "I mean look. There's one of you and Tony. And this one is of Steve walking me down the aisle."

"It's wonderful Tasha," Clint finally said setting the picture back up on the mantel.

He turned towards Natasha and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It's all real now, Clint." She murmured.

He brushed a curl behind her ear, "Yes, it is. Let's get some food."

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich would work just fine." She said.

"Coming right up!" he exclaimed giving her a quick kiss.

The two scarfed down two sandwiches each before retreating back into their room. They found that all of their clothes had been moved into the dresser as well as the closet, a detail they had overlooked at first glance. They changed into comfortable lounge clothes and got settled.

Clint crawled under the sheets and sunk into the clean pillows. Natasha grabbed the silver box from the bedside table where he had placed it after unpacking. She plopped down onto the bed and put the box on his lap.

"I told you I would hold you to it," she said.

Clint sighed and pulled the chain that was around his neck out from under his shirt. He unlocked the box and opened up the lid.

He pulled out an arrow tip and set it down on the bed. He pulled his legs up into a crossed legged position, the box balanced in his lap.

Natasha picked up the arrow tip and turned it over in her hands.

"Why do have this?" she asked.

"Easy, I'll explain once I pull everything out okay?" Clint said with a chuckle.

He continued to empty the contents of the box onto the bed and once it was emptied he set it on the table next to him.

"Okay, go for it," Clint said leaning back against the pillows letting Natasha look over the items.

She picked up the arrow tip again and looked at him.

"That is the tip from the arrow I shot my first bull's eye with." He said with a smile.

She reached for the small stack of photos. She held the first one up for him to see.

"That's my parents, it's the only photo I have of them."

She held up another that showed two young boys.

"That's me and Barney. I think I'm about 5 or 6 and he's 8 or 9. That was the last Christmas we had as an actual family."

The next was a picture of a huge black dog.

"Ah, that's my dog Oreo. You can't see it in the picture, but he had a white belly. He's a Newfoundland. He was hit by a car when I was 7."

"I didn't know you liked dogs," Natasha said.

"Oh yeah! I love them!" He laughed. "Do you?"

"I've never had one. I think they are cute and I wouldn't mind one," she replied.

"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind," he said.

Natasha rolled her eyes. She picked up what looked like a flyer. She unfolded the paper and raised an eyebrow.

"That is the circus I was part of. That's Trickshot and the Swordsman. They taught me how to shoot. I can use a sword too, but obviously that's a little hard to carry around."

"Seriously, you can sword fight?" She asked.

"Yep, and you know I can handle a gun too." He said.

"So this Trickshot and Swordsman," she started.

"Yeah, once my parents died Barney and I ran away from the orphanage we were at and found the circus. Those two took us in seeing we had potential and taught us how to entertain. Barney did a lot with weight lifting because he was bigger than me. I did the acrobatic stuff and archery. Trickshot would make me practice shooting till my fingers bled. I can shoot without a guard or glove, but I prefer them. I was 16 when I caught Trickshot, the Swordsman, and Barney stealing money from the circus. I went to turn them in, but they turned on me. My own brother beat me till I was literally on the edge of dying. They left me on the side of the road die. I was found by some cop and taken to a hospital. I got better then ran away. I became a gun for hire and got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bad side. Then Coulson came for me. You know the rest." He explained.

"What's this?" she asked holding up a piece of paper with an address scratched onto it.

"That is Barney's address." Clint said shifting nervously.

"Have you ever gone to see him?" Natasha asked.

"Yes a few years ago while you were on a mission." Clint reached over and picked up the last picture. "This is my sister-in-law, Hanna, and my nephew Robert and last I heard they were expecting a baby."

"We should go see them," Natasha suggested.

"Why?" he asked.

"If you have the opportunity to fix things with your family you should. I can't ever see mine again. You have that opportunity." She explained.

"They live not far from here actually." He said.

"Tomorrow morning we'll go see them." Natasha said.

She smiled at him and reached for the piece of fabric. She recognized the texture immediately.

"That's from Budapest." Clint said softly.

"You have part of my suit?" she asked.

"I ripped it off when they took you away from me in the hospital. I was holding on to you that tight. I thought I was going to lose you. I wanted to have something that was yours if you died," Clint mumbled.

"But I didn't die. I'm right here. So why do you need to keep this?" she asked grabbing his hand.

"I keep it because that was the day I told you I loved you," He replied.

"I love you, Clint," Natasha said kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too," He whispered. "Let's put this junk up."

"It's not junk, it's your memories." She said handing him the fabric.

He piled everything back into the box and locked it back up. He set it aside and opened his arms towards her.

"Come here," he mumbled.

Natasha gave him a small smile and nestled herself into his arms. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around small body. His hand skimmed across her toned flat stomach and a thought came to his mind. For a moment he pictured what it would be like to have a baby growing there; to feel the swell of her stomach and the movements of their child. It was a cruel thought, an impossible thought. Natasha couldn't get pregnant, not since the Red Room. They had taken that away from her.

He moved his hand away and banished the thought, no matter how appealing it was.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: all the reviews i got made me soo happy:)

IcarusOwl: your questions don't bother me at all! Unfortunately Thor won't make an appearance for a while. I have been praticing writing him and Loki and I wanted to get them right. Dont worry I have big plans Thor and Bruce :)

Stargazer11: mmm yes lemon goodness in the next chapter... :) i love foreshadowing :)

Sarmi: on your prediction...maaaaaaaaayyyyybeeeeeee ;)

okay this chapter may seem a little off topic. I find the relationship Clint has with his brother a littler intriguing. I couldnt find much about them after they split ways after the circus soooo I improvised. I'm happy this how this turned out and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter...

I especially looooooove the ending ;)

* * *

Chapter 11

The two slept in the next morning and had a late breakfast. They got dressed and met up with Steve on the Avengers floor.

"Fury says he wants to meet up with us tonight," Steve said as he read the newspaper.

"Ok, we are just going out for a bit and then we'll be back," Natasha said. Steve nodded and watched the two board the elevator.

"Wait, we don't have a car," Clint said as the doors closed.

Natasha held up a pair of keys in his face. "I still have the keys from last night."

Clint smiled and made a move for the keys, but Natasha pulled them out of his reach.

"Easy my Hawk, I'll drive you tell me where to go," She said.

"Alright." He sighed sliding into the passenger's seat.

Clint led her through the streets of New York towards a small suburb.

"It's the one with the cliché white picket fence," Clint said pointing to the last house on the street.

Natasha nodded and parked the Audi on the street. The high end car looked out of place in the neighborhood full of vans and SUVs. She shut the car off and looked at Clint.

"You can do this," she said touching his thigh. Even behind his sunglasses, Natasha could see the doubt in his eyes.

The climbed out of the car and walked up the sidewalk towards the house. The blinds in the front window opened briefly followed by the front door flying open.

"UNCLE!" A small boy yelled running towards Clint. He jumped up and clung to Clint's body. "You're back!"

Natasha watched a smile come across Clint's face.

He peeled the boy off his leg and knelt down to his height. He picked him up and set him on his hip.

"Hey Big Boy," He said ruffling the boy's hair.

The boy wrapped his arms around Clint's neck and squeezed.

The three continued up the path and to the door. Standing waiting was an older man that looked remarkably like Clint, except he was built a bit bulkier.

"I see the baby bird found his way home." The man said crossing his arms.

"You grew a beard," Clint said punching him lightly in the arm.

"And you still look like a baby," Barney said. "Come on in."

"This is Natasha," Clint said nodding back to Natasha. She gave Barney a small wave.

"Dang, Clint. Where did you find this one?" Barney asked.

Clint and Natasha sat down on the couch and the boy crawled away, running down the hall excitedly.

"Russia," Clint said patting her thigh.

"Through S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Barney asked relaxing in his arm chair.

"Yeah," Clint replied.

"Well, Natasha you are the first girlfriend Clint has ever brought home," Barney said chuckling.

"I'm not his girlfriend," Natasha said.

"Oh?" Barney asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm his wife," Natasha replied.

"Holy Hell, Hawk! You don't talk to me for a year and now you're married! You didn't even mention her?" Barney exclaimed.

"Barney Barton watch your language," a woman said as she came up behind him. In one arm she held a small baby and with the other she smacked Barney on the back of the head.

"Geez, Hanna! I have a right to freak out went my brother gets married." Barney whined.

"Oh Clint, that's wonderful! Congratulations!" Hanna said leaning down and giving Clint a kiss on cheek.

"So this must be the new one," Clint said gesturing to the baby, hoping to turn the attention off of him.

"Yes, this is Nicole. Could you hold her for a moment, Clint?" Hanna said practically shoving the child into his arms.

Clint's eyes went wide, "Um, I've never held a baby before."

"Give her here, you big baby," Natasha said reaching for the baby.

She cradled the baby in her arms, expertly supporting her head and everything. Baby Nicole stared up at Natasha with wide eyes. She seemed to be determining whether this new holder was trustworthy or not. Natasha gently rubbed circles on her stomach and smiled softly down at her.

After a moment, Nicole relaxed and sunk back into Natasha's arms. She curled her body up and moved as close as she could to Natasha.

"I didn't know you knew how to handle babies, Tasha." Clint said in awe.

"I'll tell you later, okay?" Natasha said softly.

Clint nodded and turned back to his brother.

"The wedding was very sudden. It was literally two days ago in Hawaii." Clint explained.

"I saw that you guys did a good job with the whole alien invasion. So you kill a whole bunch of aliens and then get married, yeah that is so romantic," Barney mocked.

Robert came bounding back down the hallway with his arms full of toys. He dropped them at Clint's feet and plopped down next to the small pile.

"Look what Daddy bought me. It's Captain America!" Robert explained holding up a small replica of the captain.

Clint took the toy and turned it over in his hands, examining it closely.

"I have one of all the Avengers now," Robert said laying out the figures in a line.

Sure enough there was a toy of each of them.

"See look! It's you Uncle!" the boy exclaimed holding up the archer.

Clint laughed, "It's only been a week. How do they have toys of all of us?"

"It's America, boy. Once the public demands it, it appears," Barney said.

Clint looked back done at the figures. Captain America came with his shield of course. Iron Man had little launchers for missiles on his hands. The Hulk was just bigger than the other figures. Clint's figure came with a bow and Natasha's had a lever that made her kick. It was hilarious to watch Robert play with Cap and Iron Man making them beat each other up.

"You're Black Widow aren't you?" Robert asked looking up at Natasha.

She laughed a little, "What makes you say that?"

"You have the same hair and you hang out with Uncle Clint, just like the Black Widow hangs out with Hawkeye," Robert explained.

"You are a clever boy. Yes I am the Black Widow," Natasha answered.

"She's actually your Aunt too, Robbie," Clint said.

Robert's eyes lit up, "I have an Aunt and an Uncle who are super heroes! This is so awesome!" the boy exclaimed.

"Remember, what I told," Barney warned looking down at his son.

"I know, I know, don't tell anybody," the boy whined.

Clint glanced down at his watch, "Hey we need to go."

"Leaving so soon?" Hanna asked taking the baby from Natasha.

"Yeah we have to meet up with the Director," Clint explained as he and Natasha stood up.

"It was wonderful meeting you Natasha and welcome to the family. Someone has to watch these Barton boys." Hanna said giving the two a one armed hug.

"Don't be a stranger, Clint. It's good to see you every now and then," Barney said clapping Clint on the back.

Robert seemed to have caught on to what was happening and jumped up, clinging to Clint's leg. "Don't go!" he whimpered burying his face into the fabric.

Clint knelt down and peeled the boy away. "I have to, but I'll be back okay?"

Robert nodded and flung his arms around Clint's neck. Clint hugged the boy tightly and whispered something in his ear that Natasha couldn't hear.

Robert nodded again and let go. Clint stood back up and gave the baby a quick kiss on the head before turning Natasha towards the door. They exited the house only briefly turning back to wave at the family in the doorway before sliding into the car.

The first few minutes of the drive were silent.

"It's small, but you have a family now Natasha," Clint said breaking the silence.

"I like them. You're great with Robert. That boy adores you."

Clint chuckled, "Yeah he does. Nicole loved you."

"I had a baby sister at one time. We were seven years apart. She died when my parents did. That's why I know how to hold a baby. It's not something you easily forget." Natasha said quietly.

Clint was unsure of how to respond to Natasha. She never talked about her family.

"What was her name?" he asked, thinking it was a safe question.

"Aliya," Natasha answered a ghost of a smile apparent on her face.

"It's beautiful," Clint said with a smile as he parked the car in the garage under the Tower.

The two rode the elevator up to the meeting floor. They were the first to arrive so they took their seats at the large table and waited.

"I wonder if Tony would let us bring Robert and Nicole here," Clint wondered aloud.

"Probably, why?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know, we could watch them so Barney and Hanna could have a date night. Robert would love to meet Cap," He suggested.

"That would be nice," Natasha said touching is hand.

At the sound of the elevator, the two pulled their hands away.

They first saw Director Fury in his typical leather getup before they saw the man he brought with him.

The two agents were speechless.

Before them stood none other than Phil Coulson.

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A/N: COULSON LIVES! I cannot wait for the SHIELD tv show with Coulson in it! I mute the tv when the scene where Coulson dies comes on...it never happened. COUSLON LIVESSSS


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: the reviews I got made me so happy! thank you to all my regular reviewers, you keep me going!

I am posting this because I am in an Avengers mood since the new Iron Man 3 trailer came out today. (All I have to say is WOW! Go watch it for sure)

On This Chapter: At the end there is lemony goodness :)

* * *

Chapter 12

Phil looked good for a supposedly dead guy. He walked with a cane on his right side and his left arm was in a sling. However, he still wore his typical suit and typical Phil smile.

Natasha made the first move towards her handler. She stood in front of him, taking in his presence before wrapping her arms around him and hugging gently.

"My god, I must be dead if Natasha is hugging people now," Phil laughed returning the gesture with his free arm.

"Only for you," she said her voice cracking slightly. She broke away and held him at arms-length. "Don't you ever die again."

"I wasn't planning on it," he replied with a smile.

Phil turned to Clint who hadn't moved from his chair. The look on the archer's face was one of pain and confusion.

"I knew they would get you back, Barton," Phil said.

Clint remained silent.

Fury glared at him. "Agent," he growled in a low warning tone.

Clint closed his eyes for a moment and stood up.

"Excuse me, sir," the archer mumbled before retreating into the elevator.

It wasn't but a second after the doors closed when Fury wheeled on Natasha. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure, sir. I believe he's in shock," Natasha answered straightening her back and crossing her arms defensively.

"Easy you two, I'll go check on him while you do the briefing Director. I'll tell Barton what's going on, too," Phil said.

He hobbled over to the elevator and boarded.

"Try the shooting range on our floor, third door down the hall on the left," Natasha suggested.

Phil nodded and pushed the button for the agent's floor. He followed Natasha's directions, but frowned at the sight of the scanner.

"Agent Coulson, Miss Romanoff has granted you access to this room. You may enter," JARVIS said.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Phil said before opening up the door.

He was met with the familiar sound of a bow string and thump of arrows hitting something solid.

The archer had his back to the door and was losing arrows rapidly at a single target.

"Clint," Phil called out.

Clint whipped around his bow ready and trained on the handler. His eyes were hard and angry, only briefly softening at the sight of Phil. He released the tension on his bow and let it hang at his side.

"What?" he hissed, mentally kicking himself for the harsh tone. This wasn't Phil's fault.

"Are you okay? Fury told me everything," Phil asked in a calm voice.

"No, I'm not fucking okay! I killed agents! I killed you! All because of that bastard!" Clint yelled turning back around and losing another arrow.

Phil looked closely at the target for a moment and noticed that under all the arrows was a picture of Loki.

"Clint, you didn't hurt me. That was Loki. Come on let's go sit down. I can't stand for very long," Phil said trying to soothe his friend.

Clint placed his bow and quiver on the table and left the room. Phil sighed and followed him into the living area. Clint collapsed on the couch while Phil gently sat down in the Laz-e-Boy recliner.

"You're wrong. I did hurt you. I led Loki to the Helicarrier," Clint grumbled.

Phil rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like a child, Clint. This has got to stop," Phil said firmly getting his attention.

Clint opened his mouth to reply, but Phil stopped him.

"He's gone. Those agents knew there was danger in being in S.H.I.E.L.D. I knew it too. You were goddamn lucky to have Natasha. You should be thanking her for saving you from Loki. That woman saved your life and this is how you are going to repay her? By wallowing in self-blame?" Phil pressed.

"I married her," Clint whispered dropping his head into his hands.

"Wait, what?" Phil asked in disbelief.

"I married her, Phil. Three days ago in Hawaii we got married. You should have been there, but you were dead. Now you're not. It hurts." Clint explained finally meeting the other man's gaze.

Phil started to laugh.

"What?" Clint asked confused.

"It took you too long enough! I have had a bet going with Fury for two years on when you two were going to get married," Phil laughed.

It took him a moment, but Clint joined in on the laughter.

"See? You can get better," Phil said.

"You know it's not that easy for me," Clint replied giving Phil a look.

The handler nodded, the smile slipping off his face.

"Clint, the council has new missions for you guys," Phil said solemnly.

"Oh boy," Clint said sarcastically.

"They're separating you and Natasha again," Phil said meeting Clint's gaze. He knew it had been difficult last time.

"Why? Why do they keep doing this?" Clint hissed crossing his arms across his chest.

"Because they know there is something between the two of you. You know a relationship with a fellow agent is dangerous," Phil explained.

"Where are they sending her?" Clint whispered.

"Russia. Moscow specifically," Phil replied.

"Are they punishing her? Going back to Moscow will kill her," Clint growled.

"I know, we are going to talk to Tony to see if he has some secret way to monitor her. Fury is treating the mission with extra care," Phil said.

Clint ran an unsteady hand through his hair, "How long?"

"8 to 9 months at least. She's going to be in deep."

"When does she leave?"

"So many questions; she leaves tomorrow," Phil said.

"Tomorrow?" Clint's voice cracked. No it was too soon. The fight in Manhattan had only been a week ago.

"You, Steve, and Tony have another assignment in a few weeks. We have to gain more info on the target first," Phil explained.

Clint barely heard what Phil had said. His mind was lost in thought that he may lose Natasha.

Almost like he read his mind Phil said, "She's strong, Clint. Don't worry too much."

There was silence between the two men.

"I need to go back down to the group. I'll have JARVIS page you when Tony is ready okay?" Phil said slowly standing up.

All Clint could do was nod and watch his handler leave. Phil's heart clenched at the sight of the broken archer. He rode back down to the meeting floor wondering how Natasha was taking the news.

He was greeted almost immediately by handshakes and half hugs from the remaining Avengers minus Thor. Through it all, Phil was able to glance over at Natasha.

Her face was hard and void of emotion. She sat ram rod straight in her chair staring down at the file before her.

"Stark says he has a way of monitoring Romanoff's vitals," Fury said breaking up the welcome back party.

Tony cleared his throat, "Yeah, it's down in the lab if you guys want to follow me."

"JARVIS, tell Agent Barton he is needed in the lab on Tony's floor," Phil called out.

"Of course, Agent Coulson," JARVIS responded.

Natasha moved like a robot on the way to the lab. Every move was carefully calculated and executed. She avoided contact from Fury, Coulson, and Stark as Tony searched for the device.

Clint quietly crept in behind the group and stood close to Natasha. While Tony babbled on to Coulson and Fury on how the device worked, Clint reached forward and gently touched Natasha's elbow. She flinched and snapped her head around to face him. Her expression softened seeing who had touched her.

"Tasha," Clint whispered slipping his hand into hers. He caught a flicker of panic in her eyes.

"Later, okay?" she replied giving his hand a squeeze and then letting go.

"Okay, Natasha will you take a seat here?" Tony instructed. He held what looked like a large injector with a pretty big needle on the end.

"This is a tracker I developed a while back. After I insert it into your arm I can monitor practically everything," Tony explained.

Natasha tensed as he inserted the needle into her left arm, quickly injecting the tracker. He gave her some gauze to dab up the blood while he turned to his computer. Tony furiously typed codes into the computer, finally resulting in him smiling and pushing a button. A dozen different screens popped up at once each showing something different.

"And here is everything about Natasha Romanoff," Tony said motioning to the screen. The other three men stepped closer to examine the screen.

"I can monitor her heart rate, blood pressure, hormone levels, levels of consumption, etcetera," Tony said pulling up each screen.

"Hormone levels?" Natasha questioned, giving Tony a suspicious look.

"This was developed for the military, so they wanted to be able to tell if their soldiers were shooting up or not. So in this case I can literally tell if you are on your period or not, which you are not," Tony said with a smirk.

Both Natasha and Clint gave Tony a threatening look.

"Yikes, both assassins that time. I won't monitor that that closely okay? But hormone levels can tell me if there is something seriously wrong too," Tony continued.

"Bruce will do the monitoring," Clint said firmly.

Tony gave Clint a look before turning to Coulson.

"Bruce will do the monitoring, Stark," Coulson confirmer.

"Fine, just because he's a doctor and all," Tony grumbled closing the screens. "I'll pull it all up tomorrow at the start of the mission."

"When can I get this thing out of me?" Natasha asked.

"When you return," Fury said. "You are all excused. You know your orders, Romanoff. Coulson will pick you up in the morning."

Natasha nodded and retreated to the elevator, bringing Clint and the file with her. The two barely made it out into their floor before Natasha jumped on Clint. She pushed him up against the wall forcefully and hungrily captured his lips. Her kisses were frantic and sloppy as she groped at his clothing.

"Tasha…Nat…hey…slow down," Clint said in between kisses trying to push her away.

"Clint, please," she begged pushing her body flush up against his causing him to stifle a groan.

He ran a hand through her hair and gently pushed her away so he could look at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was heavy.

"Tasha, we need to talk," he whispered touching her hand that held the file.

Natasha pressed the file against his chest and stalked away.

"Fine, read it," she growled heading towards the kitchen.

Clint walked over to the couch and sat down. He flipped past the first few pages that were Natasha's record before reaching the actual assignment. He felt his stomach lurch and fly up into his throat.

They were sending her back to the Red Room. Her mission was to take down the head of the program; to destroy the program entirely at any cost. He recognized the name of the leader from Natasha's file. This was the man that turned her into the Black Widow; this was the man that shaped her into the deadly and beautiful assassin she was. Now she had to kill him.

He felt the couch sink next to him.

"I've feared this day for a long time," Natasha said taking a sip from the water bottle she held.

"It's wrong, Tasha. They shouldn't have assigned this to you," Clint said putting the file on the coffee table.

"Who else could do it? That's way they let me stay in the first place, so I could eventually take down the Red Room. Who better to do it then the top assassin that ever came out of there?" Natasha explained.

"I won't let you go," Clint said getting up and pacing in front of her. "We'll leave now, we both know how to hide. I still have the money from before S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Clint, you know they would just find us. I honestly hate to think of what they would do then." Natasha replied calmly.

"I don't care!" Clint yelled pulling at his hair in frustration.

Natasha got up and walked over to her husband. "Clint, I can do this," she whispered taking hold of his hands.

"Damn it, Natasha. I can't lose you," Clint croaked his eyes searching hers.

"You won't my Hawk. Please just love me tonight like you did all last week," Natasha mumbled into his chest.

"I will always love you like that, Tasha. Come with me," Clint murmured pulling her towards their room.

Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pick her up and carry her to the bed. He set her down softly on cool messed up sheets. They hadn't bothered making the bed this morning, which seemed to be playing out in their advantage.

He pulled off her boots and socks, kissing each bare ankle once they were revealed. He toed off his own boots and pulled off his own socks. Slowly he climbed up her body to where he was straddling her thighs. He took a moment to soak in the view below him. She looked like a goddess in his eyes. Her red curls were splayed out across the pillow. Her emerald eyes sparkled as she looked up at him with a soft smile.

Clint bent down and kissed her deeply, his tongue wrestling with hers. He inhaled her unique scent, committing it to memory for the time. 8 months would be too long.

Natasha gently pushed him away gasping for air. Her hands wandered down his sides to the hem of his shirt, giving it a small tug.

"Too many clothes, Barton," she whispered against his lips.

Clint smirked and quickly shed the shirt, turning his attention to hers. He pulled it over her head and tossed to over to join his. He peppered kissed along her collarbone, occasionally sucking gently at the junction between her shoulder and neck. Natasha whimpered softly.

Clint grinned against her skin and placed his hands on her hips. He worked his way to the button. He deftly unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them down her legs. Natasha fumbled with Clint's pants for a moment before pulling them off as well.

She ran her hands up the back of his thighs and squeezed his ass. Clint growled and sucked harder on her collarbone. Natasha hissed and ran her hands across the bulge in his boxers. Clint groaned and bucked his hips towards her hands.

"That's not fair," he growled. He kissed her hard and pushed his body against hers. He snaked his arms around her back and unclasped her bra. He slid the straps off her shoulders and flung the garment away. He palmed her left breast while he brought his lips to her right nipple. He rolled the peak with his tongue earning a deep throaty moan from Natasha. He continued to suck gently for a while before switching to the other.

Natasha ran her hands up and down his muscled back relishing his warm skin. She could feel the bumps of many scars that littered his back. She traced the marks with her fingertips causing him to shiver against her. She smiled and brought his face up to hers so that she could kiss him. She lazily sucked on his tongue.

Clint ran his hands down her sides and under the bands of her underwear. She gasped as his fingers brushed across her hot center. A surge of arousal spread through her body as he brushed against her bundle of nerves. Clint pushed her underwear down and tossed them to the side. She hadn't anticipated his next move.

Clint smiled up at her for a moment and then placed a kiss on her mound. She sucked in a deep breath and braced herself. Clint lapped at her opening generously as he ran his hands down the insides of her thighs. Natasha bucked her hips up towards his mouth begging for more. She felt the familiar knot begin to form in her lower stomach. She rocked her hips against his face trying to find release. Clint grinned and gently pushed her hips back down.

"Easy, babe," he murmured. He placed one more kiss on the inside of her thigh before climbing back up her body. He licked his lips and placed a kiss on her lips.

Natasha moaned into his mouth, tasting herself on him. She hooked her thumbs under the bands of his boxers and pulled them down.

"I need you, Clint," she mumbled against his lips.

Clint groaned at his erection was released from its confines. Natasha felt the warmth begin to build again between her legs when she felt his length against her thigh. She thrust her hips against him, urging him forward.

Clint kissed her behind the ear and positioned himself at her entrance.

"I love you, Natasha," he whispered into her ear.

Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too," she replied trying to push down the emotions that threatened to bubble over.

Clint entered her slowly, trying to keep calm as he was enveloped by her heat. Natasha tightened her hold on him and buried her head into his neck once he was completely inside.

The two just laid there for a while, enjoying the feeling of being one. They could feel each other's heartbeats as they held each other.

"Move Clint," Natasha whispered nudging him with her hips.

Clint nodded and began to pull out before pushing back in with more force. Natasha gasped and bucked her hips against him. The two fell into their rhythm that they both knew so well. Clint's thrusts began to become more frantic and irregular. Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist shifting the angle at which he entered her. She ground her clit against him trying to find her release.

"Tasha, I need you to come with me." Clint panted bowing his head into the crook of her neck.

"I'm close," she breathed.

Clint slammed back into her again and again desperately trying to find his release with her. Suddenly it was all too much. The feeling of their sweat drenched bodies sliding against each other, the feeling of him sliding in and out of her, the feeling of just being together; it was too much. Natasha gasped, seeing stars as her walls clamped down around him. Clint froze and then shuddered. He spilled his seed deep inside her before collapsing next to her.

He pulled out and laid on his back trying to regain control of his breathing. He closed his eyes and focused. He could feel his composure slowly return. He opened his eyes and looked over at Natasha.

She had her hands covering her face and was shaking slightly.

"Tasha? Are you okay?" Clint asked propping himself up to see her.

Natasha waved him away with one hand and rolled over onto her side. The brief glimpse of her face was enough for Clint to see that she was crying. He pulled her hands down and pulled her into his arms.

"What's wrong?" He whispered smoothing out her hair.

"It's too much," she sobbed into his chest, the emotions she had tried so hard to before finally coming out.

"I don't understand," Clint said stroking her back soothingly.

"This it's too much. I can't love you this much," she said.

Clint's heart clenched. She was pulling away from him because of the mission. She was afraid that she wouldn't come back.

"You'll come back, Natasha," he whispered into her hair. "I know you will."

"You don't know these people. You don't just leave and then come back. I'm not the same person I was when you found me," she exclaimed.

"No, you're not and that is why I know you will come back to me. You're so much stronger now. Plus if they hurt you, the Avengers will come knocking," he said with a smile.

Natasha laughed against his chest. "I love you," she said nuzzling him.

"I love you too," he replied.

"No more talking, I just want to lay here and have you hold me," Natasha whispered closing her eyes.

"Deal," he mumbled closing his own eyes praying that force once the night would be long.

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A/N: Two more chapters after this :( But worry not I have the sequel finished :)

On Clint's behavior at the beginning: Yes he was a little angsty, but that's because part of him blamed himself for Phil's death, so you kind of see why he would be at war with himself.

On Tony's invention: Yes, I got the idea from the Hunger Games. Yes I completely made up what it does, but hey that's what fanfiction is for. :)

DON"T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: ok here is the second to last chapter of this story :( sad I know, but worry not the sequel is complete and ready to go!

I apologize for this one being so short but every story has an ending and you dont want to go over board.

So enjoy this short moment and the next and final chapter will be up tomorrow :)

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Chapter 13

Clint woke up to the sound of Natasha's alarm beeping, reminding him that she was leaving. He left her press her body further into his. He held her tightly and inhaled her scent, desperately trying to commit it to memory. Five minutes passed before the second alarm blared.

Natasha growled and shoved the clock off the table causing it to shatter on the ground. She angrily left the bed and stalked to the bathroom. Clint flinched as the door slammed shut. He wished he could go with her to keep her company, to keep her safe. He sighed and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He noticed Natasha's phone buzzing annoyingly on her table. He reached over, glancing at the caller ID before answering.

"Barton," He answered his voice sounding scratchy.

"Is she up?" Coulson's voice asked.

"Yeah, she's pissed, but she's up," Clint said.

"Ok, thanks for the head's up I'll be there in about 10," Coulson said.

"M'kay," Clint replied before hanging up.

Natasha reemerged wearing matching black pants and shirt this wasn't her cat suit, which sat in the bag by the door that had been packed the night before. Her boots echoed as she walked over to the door, grabbing her bag as she exited.

Clint pulled on his sleep pants over his boxers that he had retrieved at some point during the night and quickly followed her. He brought her phone with him and slipped it into her bag.

She sat down on the couch and pulled the mission file onto her lap. Clint grabbed an apple from the counter and sat down next to her. He silently offered her the fruit, which she took with a nod. The sound of her eating the apple filled the room; the silence between the two thickening.

Clint couldn't stand it anymore, "Nat," he said softly.

She remained quiet and continued to read the file.

"Natasha, talk to me," he said touching her leg with his own.

"What do you want me to say?" she sighed closing the file.

"Anything…Phil will be here anytime now," Clint answered glancing up at her.

"I don't want to say goodbye because that would mean I wouldn't be coming back," Natasha said. She shifted her body towards his and setting the file down on the table.

"Then don't say goodbye. You will be back. It's more or 'I'll see you later', not goodbye," Clint explained.

"I'll see you later then," Natasha whispered clasping her hands tightly in her lap.

Clint took her hands into his. "I love you," he said.

Natasha inhaled a shaky breath, "I love you too."

She leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. She broke away and laid her head on his shoulder.

"This has never been this hard. We have had tons of solo missions. We have watched each other go so many times, but why does this time hurt so much?" Natasha mumbled into his neck.

"It's because you're afraid, Tasha. It's okay to be afraid. Every time you leave I'm terrified I'll never see you again. It hurts this much for me every true. Fear just means you are alive; you are human," Clint said holding her tightly.

They heard the elevator ding behind them and the doors open, but they still didn't let go.

"Agent Romanoff, it's time to go," Phil said in his formal handler voice.

Natasha let go and slowly stood up, dragging out the contact with Clint as long as possible. She retrieved her bag, rummaging through it one last time before shoving the file in and zipping it up. She stood next to Phil and looked back at Clint.

Clint practically jumped up and was at her side in seconds. He took her breath away with a sudden kiss. He held her close, his mind screaming not to let go. Phil cleared his throat causing him to back away.

"I'm sorry you two. I really am," Phil said softly his gaze meeting both of theirs.

"It's not your fault," Natasha said offering him a small smile.

"Keep her safe, Phil," Clint said crossing his arms across his chest.

"I will try, Clint. I promise." Phil answered. He turned and walked back into the elevator.

Natasha lingered back for a moment. "I love you, Clint," She whispered.

"I love you too, Tasha," Clint choke out. He watched her board the elevator and the doors close.

And then he was alone.

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A/N: dont forget to review and tell me what you thought! Im happy to answer any questions


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: And this is last chapter of this story... :( do not worry the sequel will be up on Monday :)

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Chapter 14

**1 Week**

For the first time, Clint left lost. He hadn't realized how much he had spent with Natasha since the battle of New York. He tried to relax or hangout with the others, but the nagging thought of Natasha being in Russia just tensed him up more.

Thor had made a brief appearance to tell them that Loki was locked way, but left soon after that.

Clint found himself sitting on the roof most days just observing the city. He needed a distraction soon before he lost his mind.

**1 Month**

Clint had lost count of how many targets he had destroyed in the shooting range. He was bored and lonely. It had been a month since Natasha had left.

There was no word on how things were going. Occasionally, Clint would sneak into Bruce's lab to check her vitals.

She was alive and strong, but that didn't make him miss her any less. The knowledge eased the pain a little, but it was only for a moment.

Bruce would catch him sitting in front of the monitors most of the time. He would just let him be and work around the archer. Clint appreciated Bruce for this. The scientist was quiet and oddly comforting.

"Hey, Clint will you give me a hand?" Bruce asked one day while he was checking on Natasha.

Clint pulled himself out of his trance and turned to Bruce.

"I don't know if I'm qualified to," Clint laughed.

"Nah, you're just fine. I need you to press this button when I say so," Bruce explained motioning to a flashing button on one of the touch screens.

Clint stood guard over the screen as Bruce worked with his beakers and chemicals that Clint didn't understand. Bruce hooked the bottles up into a machine and grabbed a notepad.

"Ok, now," he said nodding towards Clint.

Clint touched the button and heard the machine come to life. He walked over stood next to Bruce.

"She's doing good," Bruce said as he watched the chemicals react.

Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Natasha, she's doing good. She got pretty cold last night and she had a small hormone level spike, but nothing to be concerned with. It was probably her body trying to compensate for the cold," Bruce explained.

"Oh, good. It's cold in Russia at this time," Clint replied he continued to watch Bruce in silence.

"Thank you by the way," Clint said quickly.

"For what?" Bruce asked turning to face Clint.

"For letting me sit in here. It helps," Clint replied.

"I'm glad I could help. This is as close as you can get to your wife for a while so I understand it's hard," Bruce said walking over to his desk.

"Do you have someone Bruce?" the archer asked sitting down on one of the stools.

"Um, about that…" Bruce turned his back to Clint.

"Hey, remember I'm a hawk. I caught that one there Banner," Clint laughed.

"Fine, if you could call her 'someone'…I guess I have someone," the scientist mumbled his face flushing slightly.

"Who is she?" Clint asked.

"Eh, you don't want to hear my story."

"Come on, I'm a good listener."

Bruce sighed and pressed some buttons on one of the screens before turning to the other man.

"Her name is Betty. She's a genetics scientist like me. She was with me when I got the other guy. She got hurt and I still can't forgive myself," Bruce explained.

"That's not bad, Bruce. You didn't hurt her on purpose. Natasha and I, we killed people for a living. I almost killed her. You didn't kill Betty," Clint said.

"But I could have, that's the problem. It's a constant concern for me. I have much better control now, but I don't want to hurt any of you," Bruce said.

"You haven't. You caught Tony out of the sky," Clint exclaimed.

"You haven't seen the footage from the carrier have you?" Bruce mumbled.

"What do you mean?" the archer asked.

"After you exploded that wing, Natasha and I dropped down a level. She got pinned by some debris and I lost my cool because of the argument we all had been in in the moments before the explosion. I attacked her Clint. I flung her against a wall and if Thor hadn't come…I don't want to think of what would have happened to her," Bruce explained meeting the archer's eyes.

"Oh, she was okay Bruce. Only some slight bruising around the ribs, but I contributed to that too." Clint said.

"I'm glad you two got married." Bruce said smiling.

"Me too, I just wish we could have spent more time together before she left. This was too soon," Clint said.

Natasha's monitor beeped grabbing the two men's attention. Bruce was at the screen in seconds running over the data.

"It's her heart rate, it's elevated. Does she get scared?" Bruce asked typing a way furiously.

"No, she doesn't," Clint whispered.

"Well she's either afraid or running. Her adrenaline is up as well." Bruce explained.

"I hope she's running," Clint mumbled.

**3 Months**

Clint had a bad feeling. He couldn't describe it, but it made him nauseous. He woke up one morning and his stomach felt as had bottomed out.

He ate silently with the Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Bruce.

"Hey, what's wrong Legolas?" Tony asked through a mouth full of pancake.

"I have a bad feeling," Clint confessed. It was no use in hiding it from them.

"About what?" Steve asked.

"Natasha," Clint answered. "I feel like something is wrong, like we're missing something."

"How about after breakfast we all go check on her vitals again," Pepper suggested.

"I've been watching them, just not closely. There were no spikes so I didn't investigate further," Bruce said finishing his food.

"Okay, field trip to the Widow monitor!" Tony exclaimed standing up suddenly.

Steve rolled his eyes and patted Clint on the shoulder, "I'm sure she's okay."

"Yeah, I hope so."

**Moscow, Russia**

All she could register was pain, pain everywhere. Everything hurt. It hurt to move, to breathe, and to open her eyes.

The cold stone floor eased the ache to a degree, but at the same time it made her muscles scream. She groaned and rolled over onto her torn up back, hissing in pain. She bent her knees and planted her feet on the ground. Slowly, she opened her eyes taking in her cell.

The damp, grey stone was suffocating her.

She heard the heavy metal door creak open and in came her torture… her master…her maker. Ivan Petrovitch.

"Ah, мой паук, you are still breathing," Petrovitch cooed nudging her leg with his boot. (My Spider)

"Like I would stop for you," Natasha spat.

The man laughed causing her blood to run cold.

"I trained you well," Petrovitch said. He immediately switched gears. "Get up," he hissed.

Natasha continued to lie on her back, making no move to stand.

"I said get up, сука!" Petrovitch snapped kicking her hard in the ribs. (Bitch).

Natasha stifled a groan and curled in on her side away from his boot. Petrovitch knelt down next to her and leaned closer to her ear. She could smell the vodka on his breath making her gag.

"Do you really want to continue this?" he whispered.

Natasha huffed. Petrovitch pushed her curls behind her ear, gently stroking her cheek. He pulled a few pieces of paper out of his jacket pocket and unfolded it slowly.

"You've gone soft, Natalia. Where did you find a heart?" he continued menacingly. He held the first paper to where she could see it. Natasha immediately masked her reaction.

"Is this the one who took you from me?" Petrovitch asked.

Natasha stayed silent.

Petrovitch roughly yanked her hair, "Look at it! Look at him! Is he the one who made you soft?! Is he the one that ruined you!"

"He fixed what you broke," Natasha mumbled.

"Fixed you? He destroyed you. This…this Clint Barton will die," Petrovitch growled.

He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Don't you touch him!" Natasha growled pushing herself up with her bound hands.

Petrovitch laughed, "No promises мой паук." (my spider)

"What is the other paper?" Natasha gasped her ribs protesting her movements.

"It's the reason you are still alive," Petrovitch answered before closing her back into her cell to be alone.

Clint paced around anxiously behind Tony and Bruce.

"Hey Legolas, cool it back there. You're making me nervous," Tony called out.

"I'll stop pacing when you tell me what's going on," Clint grumbled.

Steve and Pepper sat at one of the desks waiting patiently.

Bruce slowly sat down in his chair and ran a hang through his hair; the cocky grin that had been on Tony's face disappeared as he took a seat next to Bruce.

Clint stopped in his tracks, "What's wrong?"

"We need to contact Fury," Tony said quietly.

"What the hell is wrong!?" Clint yelled shoving the stool next to him to the floor in frustration.

"That spike from before Clint wasn't anything. Natasha's pregnant according to her hormone levels," Bruce explained.

"That's not possible," Clint whispered. "She can't get pregnant."

"Apparently she can. We need to get her out of there," Tony said pulling out his phone.

He pulled up medical scans from Natasha's file. "Bruce, will these help? There from a few years ago, but they're full body scans." Tony said moving the scans to the bigger screen.

Bruce slide his glasses back on and stepped closer. "Yeah, her file is wrong. The Red Room did a sloppy job. See here," Bruce said pointing to the section showing her abdomen. "This is where they severed one of her fallopian tubes and badly damaged her uterus. However, they didn't completely severe the other tube. The scar tissue from the operation has to be extensive. Some way an egg got through. It's a tiny pathway from what I can tell so it's pretty much a miracle."

Clint sunk down to the floor and leaned up against the legs of the desk. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm down. This couldn't be happening.

"We need to get her back because with that much scar tissue the pregnancy is dangerous. If she isn't monitored carefully she could lose the fetus and bleed out." Bruce continued.

She could die was all Clint heard. Natasha could die all because she was pregnant. He felt his heart clench, he couldn't be there with her.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder. Tony had knelt down next to the archer with his phone in hand.

"Let me talk to Fury. He needs the science background. Bruce and I will bring her back, Clint." Tony vowed.

Clint nodded, blinking away the tears that had stared to gather. Tony walked away and dialed Fury on his phone.

Steve got up and sat down next to Clint. The Captain didn't say anything, but his presence was comforting. Clint knew that Steve had made a connection with Natasha and that he understand what could happen.

Through the glass wall that led out into the hallway, the group could see Tony animatedly talking. He stormed back in after a moment, practically slamming the glass door.

"Fury can't do anything!" Tony exclaimed. "It's not his call. It's the damn Council's call!"

"Why can't he do anything?" Pepper asked.

"Because if the Council knew Natasha was pregnant they would fire her. They would let her die in Russia," Clint croaked.

"Then what do we do? We can't pull her out." Steve said.

"Fury told us to keep monitoring her and if there are major changes to contact him again." Tony said sitting back down.

"We wait," Bruce sighed as he sunk back down into his chair.

Steve glanced over at Clint, watching all the color drain from the archer's face.

"We wait," Clint agreed, the very words slowly killing him.

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this first part and stay tuned for the sequel! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	15. Update!

THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!

This is simply a notification that the sequel has been posted!

The title of it is Dark Side

Enjoy my fabulous readers!


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